Little Bird
by TheRedPenofDoom87
Summary: As Neytiri grows into her role of Tsahìk, she looks back at her past; Grace's school, her initiation and the begining of the war.
1. Chapter 1

_Hey I come with the begining of my first (semi) long Avatar fic. I hope you guys will like it as much as you guys like "Much to See" I saw Avatar again the other day and I kept wondering why Grace's school was shut down and how hostile the Na'vi were to outsiders (Okay well, i get the fact they don't like the invading humans) and I felt like there was something else too...Here's my take on it. _

_oh and I'm sorry about the Na'vi spelling, I have been researching but I am one of those phonetic spellers...this language is so not phonetic. _

_Disclaimer: I own nothing_

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The time of the Great Sorrow has passed and with it the time of the Toruk Makto. The sky people, "com-pa-nee" my Jake calls them, have been gone for two years. The "ski-en-tissts" like No'Men, who fixed his dream walker body, and small, fluffy Max remain in the old sky people camp. There are a few other "ski-en-tissts" and dreamwalkers who remain allies and they come and go as friends.

Now is the time for healing, for peace. Eywa has taken and now she gives.

One gift she has bestowed today lies in my arms. He is only a few hours old and is sleeping quietly. His tiny eyelids are wrinkled but closed. He dreams but of what only Eywa knows. I run my finger over the crown of his head, down to his pudgy blue stomach. His breath rises and falls in rhythm with mine. I move to his tiny hands where he has three perfect fingers that curve around my finger and hold tight.

Mother bends over him, muttering the prayer that will be my job to recite one day. When she has finished, I bring the little one closer and whisper a prayer of my own into his ear. "Be strong, be well, bring only joy." His ear twitches as I whisper but he sleeps on unaware as I hold him. His unique baby warmth is pressed against my chest making me smile.

"He will be strong," Mother brushes her finger over his small arms. "I feel it."

I have never been so thankful to have my mother standing with me. I hear her voice in my ear, guiding my actions. One day her voice will whisper in the wind as a part of Eywa. "Yes, he will be a great warrior one day."

From the hammock, Ninhat, his mother, laughs. "His father will be glad to know the future _Tsahìk_ believes so."

I return the babe to Ninhat, who coos in her sweet voice. She begins to an old song about the hike to _Iknimaya_. But the child sleeps on. One day he will know his mother's voice. But not today. Not yet.

Mother and I bid them farewell with promises that my Jake and I will visit later. As we step out from the door, Ist'Tey is there. We giggle at his worry and tell him all is well. He scurries behind the door to his mate. Mother and I leave them to wonder of the perfection of their child.

As we leave Ninhat's branch and ascend the winding staircase of the New Hometree, Mother links her arm with mine. It is a gesture she has not done since I was small. I rub my thumb over the scar on the inside of her elbow, a slick shiny burn from the cinders of old Hometree. Already, Eywa is healing the wounds the Sky People created; old Hometree may lie in a sea of ashes but there are small plants beginning to rise up through the blanket. One day all traces of Sky People will disappear but that day will come when I have long since joined with Ewya.

The time of Great Sorrow may have passed, but some scars we bear will never go away. Some scars, like Mother's, of the body may fade in time. The ones of the mind, like my Jake's, can be coaxed away with loving thoughts. But the scars on the heart….those are the ones that never heal all the way, no matter how long the Sky People have gone.

"You are quiet, my daughter," Mother observes. "Is today not a happy day?"

I squeeze her am and lean into her strong shoulder. "Of course it is. I was simply thinking."

"You have done well today," she tells me as she gestures around the inside of New Hometree. We moved to this new tree only a few months after the war, realizing that the Tree of Souls was too small a place for us all to live. It is not as big as Hometree but in a few lifetimes, it will be. "The People, heal, begin again. Where there was only death, now is life." This may be new Hometree but in my dreams, I run through my Hometree.

"Eywa has taken and now she gives," I reply.

Mother turns her wise, wide eyes to me, the tiny spots alighting with her joy. "And has she given to you?"

I laugh. "What makes you think so?"

"I see the way you looked at that child," her hand grips mine. "I see the way your Jake looks at you."

For a brief moment, I can see my Jake cradling one as small as Ninhat's in his huge hands, the softness come to his eye as he watches this tiny warrior playing with the others, him teaching his child how to shoot a bow. All things that will come to pass in time.

My Jake was not sure if such a thing could happen for us. After watching Ninhat and a few other women begin to show and after how nothing changed in me, he tried to explain how the "gee-ni-teecs" of his dream walker body worked. I could not understand entirely, but I did enjoy his obvious unease and how the spots on his nose lit up.

But Eywa has chosen to bless us anyhow.

"I have not told him yet," I confided.

Mother put her arms around me. "My heart fills with joy for you both." She whispers. "But you should tell him soon. It will not be a secret much longer." She pulls back, cupping my face in her hands. "How I wish your father…." I feel her sadness leaking through her.

"Me too," I reply.

"And…" She doesn't need to say this name.

"I know."

Mother kisses my forehead. "Eywa be with you always."

"And you."

I bid my Mother good night and thank her for her advice and blessings. As I step out onto my mine and Jake's branch, he, of course, is waiting for me.

"I see you, my Neytiri." He greets me, his voice sending shivers all the way down my spine to my tail.

"I see you, my Jake," I reply with a small kiss. We speak English when we are alone, Jake's Na'vi has greatly improved but is still choppy every so often. My English has improved as well. But like my Jake with his Na'vi, it is still not as fluent as his. "We make a good team," he told me once.

"Where were you?" he wonders as I loop my arms around his neck. "You left early this morning and I haven't seen you all day." His hands run from my shoulders down to my back.

I pull back a little, smiling. "Ninhat and Ist'tey had a son this morning. Mother and I helped with the birth and gave the blessings."

My Jake smiles as well. But I can see the small sadness in his eyes, the longing that I felt too before I knew. "You'll have to do this a lot soon?" He asks, knowing many women are with child.

I nod. "Very often. It takes two women to help with the birthing and the _Tsahìk _gives the blessing."

His hands rest on the small of my back, thumb brushing up and down against my skin. It is a gesture when he thinks deeply.

"My Jake?" I murmur, feeling his whirling thoughts.

"It's nothing…" he insists, as he lifts his eyes to mine. But I see his wish for a child of our own. The time has come.

"I wonder…?" I begin breezily.

"What?"

I trace my hand over his cheek and feel him lean against my hand. "Who mother will choose to help bless our child…?"

My Jake's eyes widen in shock. For a moment he does not speak, nor does he seem able to. But his hands move up to my face and he draws me close until our foreheads meet. "My Neytiri." He whispers.

I swallow. "I know…you feared this could not happen but-" I don't speak anymore as my Jake captures my mouth. He kisses me so deeply my tail twitches.

"For whatever reason," he breathes when we've broken apart. "I couldn't be happier."

Later, after twilight has fallen into night, my Jake and I lie curled together watching the planet he calls Polyphemus pass us by.

"I like THam-ous," I try to pronounce Jake's brother's name.

"But what if it's a girl?" Jake counters. "We can't name a girl Thomas."

I shrug. "I took a dream walker for a life mate. There have been stranger things."

Jake grins, kissing me on the nose. "True. But what about a Na'vi name?"

One comes to mind instantly, but the scar on my heart, the one identical to _Sempu's_, throbs. Jake Sees me too well to let the brief but deep sadness go without explanation. He frowns and runs his fingers down my neck to my shoulder. "What is it, my Neytiri?"

This is not something that I discuss with anyone other than Mother. They could not understand. As future _Tsahìk_, I accept that Eywa's will cannot be altered or changed but- "….I have no words in English for such a sadness," I reply softly.

"Tell me.." he urges.

"Tomorrow," I promise. "I must return to old Hometree. Gather some ashes. Come with me."

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So what do ya think? R and R please!!


	2. Chapter 2

_Here I come with the second chapter...now we're getting into the good stuff :)_

_Disclaimer: I own nothing at all._

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I have to wake my Jake from his dead sleep. He says after being a dream walker, sleep is still odd. He half expects to wake up in his broken human body. He shudders at the memories of that world and his old life; a lingering, disturbing dream that he longs to be rid of. I tell him that

The jungle and Hometree are still quiet when I wake him. The light is just beginning to break the horizon and the whole world is covered in hazy thin morning fog. If we don't leave soon, we will not be back before dark.

As we move through Hometree, few other Omaticaya are awake this early. My mother is one of the minority who is. She nods good morning to us and she looks questioningly at me as if to ask without words: Did you tell him? I nod back and led my Jake out.

But my Jake is not pleased when I tell him that we will take Pa'li. I wonder how else we will get there. By ikran? Too dangerous. Walking? It will take more hours than we can spare.

"But Neytiri…?" he pleads silently with me. His concern is touching but aggravating too. He has forgotten that I was his teacher and that I am a warrior first.

I leap onto the Pa'li's back and Jake visibly twitches as if he holds himself back from helping me. "When I make Tsahalylu with her," I reach for her queue and combine it with mine. I take a deep breath in, for a brief moment my eyes see through the Pa'li's. _Mawey_, I whisper to her. _Mawey_. I blink and see my Jake standing next to the Pa'li's side. "She knows and will be careful." I promise his scowl.

Jake climbs up aboard his Pa'li as I urge mine forward at a quick but gentle pace. We take the now well worn trails back to my Hometree.

All around us, the jungle is alive. It may seem motionless but if you learn to listen closely, you can hear the new plants breaking through the ground, the tread of the tiniest creatures who crawl unseen, but felt all the same. Trees breathe deep into the free air and they push their branches out farther and farther every day, covering the sky with a layer of green. _Soon_, I tell the child within me. _Soon, you will see this beautiful world for yourself._

As we splash over a second stream, we scare a small herd of yerik out of hiding. I laugh at their silly jeering calls as they run. Jake and I pause our Pa'li to watch the foolish creatures stumble into a clearing. Suddenly we can hear the hunting scream of a pair of ikran and dip down below the tree line. Through the branches and vines, I can see one is dark yellow and the other a burgundy. There is a flash of yellow and the strangled cry of a yerik.

My Jake glances at me, worry written on every line of his familiar face.

"We should keep moving," I say quietly and urge my pa'li to pick up the same loping easy gait. We ride until the trees begin to look painfully familiar. My heart flutters wildly and I am overcome by memories.

The Pa'li grow nervous the closer we get to my Hometree; they start to shimmy and edge away from the unnatural shadow lying before us. We dismount and let them wander.

The vast beautiful tree that was once my home lies on its side, the bark long dead from fire and it's disconnect from its roots. Everything is coated in a white-grey fog made of loose ash that floats still like tiny Atokirina who cannot find a place to land, something to bless. Before us, the roots and base of Hometree, where the trunk was snapped off, reach for the sky. The snarled snapped pieces reach for the sky like hands as if to implore it: why? Why did you send such people?

I can see it all with my waking eyes; the way I have in dreams the whole last year.

_I feel the heat of the roaring flames scorch across my back, the sharpened pieces of bark sting as they cut across my cheeks and arms. All around me, The People cry out as they watch our home reduced to cinders. Mothers howl for the children they cannot see, mates call to one another. The sky people's cruelty knows no bounds, I think to myself as the fire reaches higher and higher. The smoke chokes my lungs as I scream for Mother, Father…anyone._

_And there he is. He lies on his back, his bow clutched in his hand. A hunk of Hometree is lodged into his stomach. His blood oozes everywhere. It pools on the ground, soaking everything. I cannot stop this. I cannot put this right. I cannot…._

_My Jake's hands are on my arm. His thumb brushes over my neck. It is a comfort I want to give into but…No! My rage and fear rise like venom in my throat. I push him away again and again. I screech, in a voice that I cannot recognize, for him to leave, that he would never be one of the people. All the while, I feel my own rejection pierce my heart like an arrow. My home burns around me and I scream and scream for Eywa who does not answer me as I cradle the shell of my father. _

My Jake is next to me the whole time, his hand linked to mine. His thumb moves over my hand in the same comforting fashion, for him or me I can't tell. "I'm sorry," he whispers. He was there, he saw it all. He's seen it through my memories and I have seen it in his.

I look up to see the sorrow for everything he couldn't stop or change. This was not his fault; he could not have stopped this any more than he could halt the rain from falling. I reach for him, twining my arms around him and bury my face in his neck. Jake leans his cheek against the top of my head and tightens his hold. Moments like this are enough to make me forget everything. In those moments, he is not Olo'ektan, I am not the future Tsahìk. We are not warriors or aliens or anything else. We simply are Jake and Neytiri and nothing else matters.

When we remember that there is a job to do, we break apart but hold each other's hand even more tightly than before.

"So many memories," I whisper, tracing my finger along the dead charred bark.

"Some good?" he wonders.

I nod. "Some very good." I cannot tear my eyes away from the perverted blackened skeleton of my home. "Some happy, some sad…." I place my hand over my heart.

"Tell me the story," my Jake lets his warmth, love and strength flow into me through our connected hands.

I press my free hand back to the deadened bark. "I was not supposed to be _Tsahìk._" I confide.

Now, it is Jakes confusion I feel flowing through me. "But Mo'at is…"

I nod. "Yes, Mo'at is my mother and Eytukan was my father." I look up at him. "But there was another."

He is silent, waiting.

"Her name was Sreu and she was my sister...."

* * *

"Do you see them?" Ninhat cried from below the canopy of Hometree.

I was the only one besides Pidal brave enough to climb to the very top branches. I loved the wind on my face, pushing my braids away, my Sampu says it is the mark of a true flier.

I scanned the skies again. I begin with the river that runs underneath Hometree snake its way into the horizon, far off I can see the floating mountains, Iknimaya among them. It was an immense world, I realized and I hoped to see it all. "Nothing yet," I yelled back over the roar of the wind.

"Are we going to get in trouble?" Ninhat hissed. Next to me, Pidal rolled her eyes and I held back a laugh.

"Probably…" I shrugged but I wanted to be the first to see Sreu on her flight back. I promised her that I would.

"I don't think we're supposed to be up this high…" Ninhat muttered. "Your mother is going to be so-"

"I see them!" Pidal screeched suddenly. "I see them!"

Sure enough there were five tiny, but slowly becoming larger dots, on the horizon. We waved as they grew bigger and bigger. Suddenly the air was full of screaming ikran and whooping young warriors. I glanced around to see one deep blue, almost the color of the sky at night, ikran flying straight at me and a familiar voice screaming; "For Eywa's sake: duck, Neytiri!"

It was Sreu…Sreu on her ikran! She passed!

"Neytiri!" Ninhat and Pidal screeched and yanked me down to the safety of the canopy as Sreu's ikran just barely missed my head.

By the time Pidal, Ninhat and I scrambled down from those topmost branches; Sreu had already dismounted and was scratching her ikran lovingly on the nose.

My sister was a warrior now; proud and strong like Sempu_. _Her legs were long and lean from days hunting and her arms covered in bracelets and beads. She had Sa'nu's beautiful round eyes with a ring of green around the iris. Her huge eyes were pressed to either side of her defined rounded nose covered in bright spots.

"Sreu!" I cried out as I leapt at her. "You passed!"

"Was there any doubt?" She wondered, laughing.

"Never!" I replied as the other new initiates gather around us.

"Come on, then." She us down into Hometree. As we ran, Ninhat began to sing an old folk song and the other Omaticaya joined in as we passed them by. By the time we reached the bottom, there was a crowd waiting for us, the song swelling into a thunderous chorus. They cheered for the new warriors and for the future Tsahìk who had joined the ranks.

Mother and Father were there too. Both of them congratulated the other initiates and then Sreu. I gripped Mother's hand as her eyes filled with tears. Sreu bowed to the People who cheered still; one face stranding out among the crowd. Tsteu, my sister's intended, only looked at Sreu.

I felt my own eyes welled up and the tears spill over my cheeks as I pressed against Mother's side. We were Omaticaya, the People. We were many and strong. Eywa has given greatly today.

Later that night, after I had been sent to bed, I lay there listening for the sounds of my family. I had almost dropped off to sleep when I heard them approach our hammocks. I turned over a little so they would not see that I was still awake.

Sreu was speaking in the only way that Sreu could: loud and fast. "….Mother, you should have seen it…It looks like a huge wound in the land." She hissed. "The trees were gone!"

Gone? Where would they have gone to? I wondered silently.

"Gone?!" my mother inhaled sharply. "Where is this place?"

Sreu muttered something a place you could see from Iknimaya. A place I didn't know.

"Did you see any sky people?" Father asked.

Sky people! I had heard tales from the other warriors about the tiny people who had arrived from the sky only a few years after my birth. The warriors said they lived in strange metal beasts that ranged from the size of a Na'vi woman to ones larger than Hometree. Pidal and I decided they must be telling us tales to frighten us. But I had never seen on with my own eyes.

"Only a few of their flying machines. They did not interfere with the trials." Sreu assured them. "But they were far off."

"Tomorrow, you will take Tsteu and Hufwe with you and see for yourselves what this is…" Father ordered gravely. "Do not let them see you. See with your own eyes and return to Hometree."

I could hear the tinkling of beads as Sreu nodded.

"What about Neytiri?" She asked softly.

"What about her?"

"Will she come?"

"No," Mother snapped. "She is a child still."

"You will have to start her training soon," Sreu replied wisely. "I could start to teach her tomorrow and she would be ready to take the trials by next year."

There was a silence. "We will see." My father replied evenly.

Sreu bid them goodnight and climbed into the hammock next to me. "How much did you hear?" She whispered.

"All of it…" I grinned in the dark. "Will you train me soon?"

Sreu shrugged. "Maybe. Sempu is thinking about it at least."

"And you're going to the sky people camp tomorrow?" I asked.

"Just to see," Sreu stretched out and we watched the pinpricks of the stars move through Hometree's branches. "We will move as silently as Palulukan and just as deadly!" She hissed in jest, looking a great deal like one.

"One day, you'll be Tsahìk, won't you?" I was full of questions that night.

Sreu nodded and her voice became dreamy with a proud smile on her lips. "And Tsteu will be Olo'ektan."

But this other thought had been bothering me since she left this morning. "What will I be?" I leaned my head against her arm like I had done since before I could remember and played with one of the many bracelets on her wrist.

Sreu looped that arm around me. "You will be my very best warrior." There was a note of pride in her soothing voice. "The one I can always depend on."

* * *

_for anyone who's curious:_

_Palulukan-thanators_

_Sreu-dance_

_Tsteu- Brave._

_I was going to name her Tanhi (star) but something about Sreu just stuck with me. _


	3. Chapter 3

_Hi guys! I have the next chapter!! _

_Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I own nothing at all. _

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"Neytiri…" Sreu hummed in my ear. "Neytiri, wake up."

I cracked one eye open and frowned; it was still dark out and the sun was barely creeping through Hometree. I could still hear the others asleep in their hammocks but Sa'nu and Sempu were gone; they always had been early risers.

Sreu was inspecting her bow when I sat up. "Come on." She glanced up and motioned for me to follow.

"Really?" I whispered. "I get to come?"

Sreu smiled. "Father decided this morning. Mother isn't happy. She's been growling ever since he told her. Be careful." She shouldered her bow and grabbed a few arrows to throw into the quiver.

As we made our way down to where the Pa'li were waiting, we ran in to Sa'nu and Sempu there, talking quietly with Hufwe and Tsteu. Like Sreu predicted, Sa'nu paced like an angry nantang between Sempu and Tsteu, her tail flicked back and forth as her frown deepened. But Sempu took me aside.

"Neytiri, this is not a game." He told me quietly, moving his hand against my cheek. "You must be very careful, hi'l'aw (Small one). And I have something for you." He reached around to his belt and produced a dagger made from a palulukan claw which he laid gently in my hands. "It was my first dagger. My father gave it to me on my first day of training."

Sempu gripped my shoulders tight. "You be careful. Listen to your sister. And come home safe to us."

I promised him that I would and hugged him. "Irayo (thank you), Sempu…." I whispered and ran to Sreu.

She let me scramble up on the Pa'li first; everyone made fun of me for my size. While my sister and I were only two years apart and should have been closer in height, but she towered over me still. Beside us, Tsteu and Hufwe laughed under their breath at my struggle as a "good morning." I glared at them, I had known them since I was an exceptionally small girl and they had always thought my size was hilarious.

When I was finally settled, Sreu jumped up too but made it look effortless. Sreu and I may have gotten on well, but in those moments I hated my taller sister.

"Remember, do not let the sky people see you," Sempu ordered. "Do not attack them… Be careful."

"Yes, Olo'ektan," Tsteu answered for us all.

"We will be back before sun down," Sreu promised.

"Look after your sister," Sempu told her. "Teach her well."

"I will, Olo'ektan." Sreu promised again. She turned to the other two and said: "Let's go!"

We set off at a quick pace, quicker than I had ever gone on my own, dashing across the river. I turned around to see Hometree grow smaller and smaller the farther we went over the opposite bank. Soon it would disappear from sight all together and I wasn't sure if I was ready for that. I tried to keep my mind on the task at hand but I couldn't help but look back and suddenly I could only see the tip of Hometree. We rode farther and it vanished all together from sight; it was the farthest I had ever been from home.

We rode for what felt like hours. All the while, Sreu pointed out different trails; some made by yerik, some by prowling ___nantang and I even saw the tell tale paw print of a ____palulukan but Sreu said it had long since moved on. _

Then, without warning, we passed some invisible line and there was a sudden tension in the air. The land grew quiet and still. Few animals were left; Sreu pointed out the signs of the animals who had already fled. Something was very, very wrong.

It hit me hard. My nose wrinkled as the stink wafted the closer we got. It stank of smoke with the harsh tang of metal. And something else….it reminded me of Sreu's first kill…blood and death. I looked back to see the grim set of Sreu's usually smiling face; she smelled it too. Beneath us, the Pa'li's stride was rougher, as if it were preparing to stop.

As we climbed a steep hill we stopped and dismounted. The Pa'li shied a little as the wind changed direction and the stench enveloped us like a cloud. My eyes watered and I tried to swallow my revulsion at the stink.

"The camp is just over that hill." Hufwe pointed the way when the wind changed again and I could take a deep breath.

"How many?" Sreu asked.

Hufwe shrugged. "The last time Fkue and I were here…two hundred maybe. It was hard to be sure."

"When was that?"

"A few weeks ago."

"I saw a huge flying beast on the way up Iknimaya," Sreu pointed out. "Who knows how many it holds."

Suddenly we could hear a familiar sound; stampeding yerik. A few trees over from where we had dismounted, a large herd of yerik screeched up and over the hill. The Pa'li began to dance in apprehension as the yerik passed them but we didn't let run with the herd.

"Something scared them," I whispered as I tried to calm Hufwe and Tsteu's Pa'li.

"Yerik are easily startled," Sreu replied, patting our Pa'li's neck. "Anything can set them off."

"Like that smell?" I snarled.

"Come on, we're wasting light," Tsteu grinned at me. "The sky people don't come out after dark."

We moved up the rest of hill on foot; Sreu showed me how to run on the balls of my feet to move silently. All the while, we drew ever closer to the stink. As we reached the top of the hill and hid behind a large boulder, we could see the entire camp. It took mine and Sreu breath away.

There was a cluster of huge metal structures surrounded by tall poles with thick metal netting but no trees, no green any where inside the perimeter. Inside the line of the poles, the huge flying creature Sreu saw floated on a huge grey pond among other smaller flying insect-looking animals. There was a roar and Sreu and I flinched and ducked down a little farther behind the boulder. A little farther off from the grey pond, a humongous green beast tore into the ground, turning it up and ripping trees and grass out. A few smaller yellow beasts followed the green one as it plowed through the ground.

I understood, then, why the yerik had fled; the sight and smell of death as a living, breathing thing made me shudder too.

"What are they doing?" I hissed to Sreu.

Sreu looked down at me. "That's what we're here to find out." She pointed to Hufwe and Tsteu and motioned for them to go around the camp to the east. The two men nodded and vanished but not before Tsteu and Sreu gazed at each other for a moment longer than they should have.

As we drew closer and closer, I caught my first glances of a sky people. They were tiny, only a fraction of our height and pale, at least some of them were, carrying small black boxes with a long pole attached like weapons. Their faces were flat and shiny like some kind of clear shield that reflected the green of the trees that towered above them. They sputtered in an awful grunting language and their laughter made me cringe. But they did not see us as we watched them from up in a nearby tree.

When they passed us by, Sreu and I leapt down and were off again. I obediently followed behind my sister, our feet making no noise at all as we ran around the western edge. And then, I saw a very strange sight. In my heart I knew that this would change everything.

I tugged on Sreu's tail to get her attention. When she stopped, I pointed down to the sky people camp. Unlike the other parts of the camp, the perimeter was lower here and there were fewer sky people walking around.

They had cleared the land of all trees, but allowed a few fruit bushes to grow in tight, ordered rows. What for? I wondered. Why not just let them grow the way they want to? There was a huge wooden structure next to the metal one and a smaller grey pond with two metal poles with nets attached.

But that was not the most disturbing part. There were five maybe six of them. They looked like us, walked like us….and yet…..

I looked up to see Sreu's shocked face.

"What are they?" I whispered.

Sreu shook her head in confusion. "They are not Omaticaya. Look, how they dress, move."

Sure enough, they had many clothes and strange things on their feet. Two, one male, one female bounced an orange ball between them the two of them on the grey pond, which as I watched them, wasn't a pond at all but some kind of special ground the sky people created. They tried to toss it into the nets and I could hear their laughter from here. It was a game of some kind.

I leapt up higher on the tree and then onto the branch of the tree next to it.

"Neytiri!" Sreu hissed, trying to grab my tail. "Get back here!"

"I'll be careful, I just want to see," I retorted.

Suddenly, we could hear the tramp of unfamiliar feet. They were lighter than yerik, fewer than an average pack of nantang but heavy enough to crunch the grass underneath and make enough sound to attract every creature in the jungle.

As they got closer, to the point that I could make out two male sky people's shadows, I pulled out my father's knife, just in case. I ducked down into the split tree trunk of the tree and held my breath, trying to make myself as small and still as possible.

They spoke in the loud, strange guttural tone. The two male sky people walked side by side, their strange weapons in hand. But behind them walked two of the strange look-alike creatures. Both were female and heavily dressed with the same things on their feet. I had to suppress a shiver to hear them speak in language as the sky people.

They all passed by my tree without noticing me. And then, the taller female stopped suddenly, her ear perking.

No…no…no…Eywa, please!

The other female stopped too and asked a question of the first. They conferred and then both began glancing at my tree.

The first female gasped and pointed at me.

I remembered my father's words: Do not let them see you…do not attack. I locked my eyes on them and hissed as I began to try to make my way back out of the tree.

"Wait!" She cried out in my language. "I will not hurt you!"

I heard Sreu's hiss of surprise, too. So did the female.

The tall one took another step closer. "I will not hurt you….I promise. I am called Grace. What is your name?" Her accent was strange and a little stiff as if she couldn't properly wrap her mouth around our words.

Suddenly the two tiny sky people came to the two females' side, pointing their weapons at me. I snarled as fiercely as I could, holding out my father's knife.

The female growled at the two and shooed them away. She turned back to me. "What is your name, little one?" She tried to be calm and comforting as she reached out to me but I couldn't stand the idea of being touched by her; it was so…unnatural.

Suddenly, Sreu leapt forward, her knife in hand. "Stay where you are." My sister growled.

The female backed away a few steps, her hands palms up. "We will not hurt you," she repeated.

"What are you?" Sreu's tail rapped violently against her leg.

"I'm a human…sky people…" the tall female replied gently.

"How is it you look like us?" Sreu kept her voice calm but un-afraid.

The female touched her blue skin. "This is an extra body….I am …asleep in the camp." She pointed behind her.

"What do you want here?"

The female smiled. "To meet you…your kind."

Suddenly, we could hear Tsteu and Hufwe running towards us. Sreu gave a short screech like an ikran call.

The two females in front of us heard them too and the two tiny sky people looked around nervously. They raised their weapons but the first female, Grace, hissed at them again. She glanced up at me as Tsteu and Hufwe reached us. Both had their bows drawn, arrows at the ready.

"Please," the one called Grace pleaded. "Send my wish of peace to your Olo'ektan and Tsahìk…"

Tsteu and Sreu exchanged a brief glance of surprised worry.

"I will pass along your message," Sreu promised and motioned for me to come down. "But you will not come any closer."

I hopped down as the called Grace backed a few more paces away. The shorter one poked her head around Grace to look at me like I was a lassoed yerik. I hissed at her.

"Please," Grace implored. "I want to know more about you and how you live. I'm a…scientist, I want to learn."

Sre growled again and we backed away to where Tsteu and Hufwe had collected the Pa'li. We were mounted and already off before the look-alikes or sky people could stop us.

We raced back through the jungle, my thoughts a jumble in my head. I gripped Pa'li's neck as I heard the look-alike speak in my language in my head. The look in her strangely small eyes in such a familiar form. The ride back seemed to take less time than the ride to the sky people camp and when we finally reached Hometree, I had never been so happy to be home in my life.

* * *

I have a little key of Na'vi words I've used: (if you guys want anymore, let me know. I'll try to include this in the rest of the chapters)

_Yerik-deer creatures the Na'vi hunt_

_Ikran- flying dragons (banshees)_

_Pa'li- direhorse_

_Palulukan- thanator (big scary panther thing with venom that Neytiri rides in the one of the last scenes of the movies)_

_Nantang-viperwolves_

_Sa'nu- Mommy/ Mama_

_Sempu- Daddy/Papa_


	4. Chapter 4

_Hey! I just wanted to say thanks for all the wonderful reviews from everyone! and all the favorites. I open my mailbox and I have like 10 or 11 at a time!!!! That means so much that you guys like what I'm writing!!! It makes me feel super important :)_

_I'd just like to note that everything is totally from my imagination, all of it. I have no idea exactly what goes on during a Na'vi's warrior training, but this is what I'm guessing at, based on the movie. It'll be diffrent from Jake's training, because A.) Neytiri's grown up her whole life on Pandora and b.) already knows what's expected of her. __I just thought I'd throw that out there. _

_Disclaimer: I own nothing at all._

* * *

"You were seen?" Sempu growled at me. He twisted around to Sreu. "How could you let her be seen?"

Sreu glared at me. "I _told_ her to stay put."

Hufwe and Tsteu squirmed uncomfortably like they always did when Sreu and I fought. And with Sempu and Sa'nu there, it only made it worse.

Sempu rounded back to me. "I told you to listen to your sister! You disobeyed me, Neytiri!"

"They looked like us…" I murmured because it was the only thing I could think.

"Who did?" Sa'nu wondered, she was angry but curious too.

"A few of the sky people. They had bodies like us…our skin, our tails, our ears. Too...too many fingers," I remembered suddenly.

"How?" Sempu pressed, his anger forgotten…for the time being.

"She said it was an extra body," Sreu answered for me.

"Said?"

"They spoke in our language," Tsteu chimed in. "It was…eerie."

Hufwe nodded silently.

"She called herself…Grace," Sreu struggled over the foreign name. "And wishes you both peace. She says she's here to learn."

"She didn't want to hurt us," I threw in. "She had two sky people guards with her and she ordered them away. She was…kind."

Sempu looked to Sreu. "Is this true?"

Sreu nodded. "I could sense it as well. She meant us no harm."

Sempu looked to Sa'nu's shocked expression. He exhaled a deep breath and glanced roundly at us, his eyes exactly like Sreu's down to the ring of bright green around the iris. "Mo'at and I will speak of this and decide what to do. Tsteu, Hufwe, Sreu…let the other warriors know to be on the look for these….look-alikes… Do not let the children wander off. Keep them close to Hometree. Be sure to send a warrior with all the women who gather far from home."

My sister and her two friends got up to do Sempu's bidding.

"And Sreu…" Sempu called. "We'll have the ceremony tomorrow?"

Sreu grinned. "Of course, Sempul. I'll tell the others."

I got up as well and began to follow my sister.

"Where are you going?" Sa'nu wondered. She turned to Sempu. "I knew she was too young! She needs to wait another year."

Sempu put his hand atop hers. "Sreu is her teacher now. It is up to her. Go on," he shooed me. "You'll have to talk to your sister yourself."

That, of course, was what I was dreading. I would have taken whatever Sa'nu would have said without flinching but Sreu…. I caught up with Tsteu and Sreu a few minutes later.

Tsteu turned and took one look at me and then one at Sreu and made an excuse for something else to do. As he passed me, he leaned down and whispered: "Just stand still…and say you're sorry."

I nodded and he waited a little ways off. "Sreu…I'm sorry…." I reached for her arm, to play with her bracelet like I always did but she wouldn't have it. Sreu crossed her arms over her chest and kept her back turned to me.

"How could you, Neytiri?!" She snapped. "That was by far the stupidest thing you have ever done!"

"I didn't think-"

She whipped around. "No, you don't think! You never think! You jump without looking half the time!"

"I'm not afraid," I retorted defiantly.

"No, you aren't." Sreu's eyes narrowed. "But you're not afraid of things you should be."

"I don't understand-"

"Then understand this: it is not about you, anymore. You are Neytiri of the Omaticaya. Everything you do is for the clan." Sreu poked me hard in the shoulder. "For your family. And you cannot help your family if you go jumping out at the aliens and get yourself killed."

I stood there, absorbing her words.

"Think about that. I'm going to do the job that Sempul ordered me to." She turned and followed after Tsteu.

The next night at Sreu and the other initiate's ceremony, I watched with pride as my father accepted them and told each one that they were now sons and daughters of the Omaticaya. Then, we all placed our hands on their shoulders, and the others put their hands on ours. For a moment we all breathed the same breath, we were all one, all Omaticaya.

Afterward as I sat with Pidal and Ninhat and the celebrations went on, we watched my sister dance with Tsteu. She tossed her head back and laughed every so often as the dance grew bigger and bigger. But no matter how many dancers joined in, Tsteu never let Sreu move very far away from him. Their fingers locked together and Sreu's smile was wider than I had seen it in a long time.

The clan was celebrating the warriors, but it meant that my sister was now an adult and as future Tsahìk her place was almost secure. Tsteu had been chosen when she was younger than I was, as both her future mate and future Olo'ektan. Sometimes, these matches were for connivance and the life mates of those matches grew to love one another. But I watched my sister and Tsteu, how she blushed and laughed, their heads bent together in a secret that I didn't think I would ever understand. My sister was an adult, I was a child; we were living in separate worlds now.

"…And your sister hasn't spoken to you since?" Ninhat wondered.

I shook my head. "She's so angry…"

Next to us, Pidal shrugged as she tore a strip of yerik meat off the bone. "You know what they say," She licked the tips of her fingers. "Curiosity killed the yerik."

"That makes me feel so much better, thank you," I hissed.

"She's right, though." Ninhat countered and shivered. "You don't know what those look-alikes are capable of."

"It was stupid," I admitted. "I wish I hadn't."

"Sreu will forgive you…eventually." Ninhat assumed me.

"I don't want to talk about it anymore…Tell me what I missed today."

Pidal smiled one of her very rare smiles. "I'm going to be trained too! My father took me hunting with him." Pidal's father was one of the very best hunters in the clan and many youngsters wished to be trained by him.

I hugged her we turned to Ninhat."I'm not a warrior like you two." Ninhat grinned. "I'm going to be trained as a singer, like Sevin."

As we sat congratulating each other and imagining our futures, a group of boys about our age joined us. Tsu'Tey and Ist'Tey among them. A few congratulated Pidal on beginning her training with her father. Two or three gathered around Ninhat and mooned, as they always did, over her lovely voice and face. They encouraged her and she sang for them, her sweet voice ringing and mixing with the songs of the other singers she would join soon.

Even Tsu'Tey, next to me turned to be enchanted by Ninhat's voice. When she finished we applauded her and Ist'Tey asked her to dance. The other boys laughed and teased them. Pidal and I joined in a little as well. How could we not?

* * *

Eventually, Sreu forgave my stupidity and began my training. She was a hard task master; she expected perfection. And I was not perfect yet. I made many mistakes and had to repeat my lessons often. "Again" became Sreu's favorite word.

We spent long days running and tracking; at first it was reading the trail of the small children as they played, then it became small animals, then yerik. But I was not allowed to hunt yet.

Sreu showed me how to use the knife Sempu had given me, how to care for it and to clean it. I practiced, not only with Sreu, but Hufwe and Tsteu also. At first they disarmed me quickly, until Sreu pulled me aside one day a few weeks after my training had really begun.

"I wish I were taller," I hissed.

"Be glad of your size, little sister," Sreu grinned. "You present an seemingly easy target and that's your greatest strength."

"What do you mean?"

"Use your size against them. Being small has its advantages, you don't have to face something head on like Hufwe…" she gestured to the big warrior, whose brute strength was often the first thing that one noted about him. "You can be quick and deadly like the palulukan. Use your size to move in places and ways that Hufwe can't. "

I nodded and tried to imagine myself as sleek a hunter as the full grown female palulukan Sreu and I had seen only three days go. She was breathtaking in her fierceness as she roared at us. I felt a small chill roll down my spine as she stood there facing Sreu and I, her tail whipping against the ground. A tense moment went by and then another. None of us made a move. We only stared back at her brilliant red-gold eyes. The huntress suddenly seemed to be aware of what we were: a fellow huntress and a huntress-in-training. She growled and left us alone.

And then came a new challenge: the bow. I was not yet perfect with the knife but I had greatly improved since Sreu told me to take advantage of my size.

"The bow is an extension of this arm," Sreu instructed. She handed me the arrow and I put it into the bow, ready to shoot as I had seen her do. "And this arrow is an extension of this arm." Sreu stalked around me, adjusting my hip, shoulder and arms. "Keep your shoulders straight and this arm," She hit the underside of my arrow arm. "Tight. Know what your body is doing at all times. Be aware and in control. "

She pointed to the target, a dead branch hanging off a nearby tree. We found a secluded clearing a few hundred feet from Hometree. I could hear the others but if I missed the target, I wouldn't harm anyone. "Aim and shoot when you feel like you can."

Immediately, I shot and missed the target completely.

Sreu sighed. "What did you wrong?" It was her favorite question.

"I shot too fast?" I figured.

"Yes. You have to take your time. You have all the time in the world. Take the few moments to aim. Again." She handed me another arrow.

I set the arrow and pulled back the string.

Sreu slapped my arms into shape. "Now take a deep breath and feel it. Really see it."

I breathed and she poked me hard. "Keep your back straight."

"Deep breath…" She ordered. "Aim…"

I opened both eyes.

"Now!"

I released the breath I didn't realize I was holding and let the arrow fly.

It hit the center of the branch with a satisfying thud.

"I'll make you a huntress yet," Sreu grinned.

Suddenly, the land grew quiet, except for a loud constant thudding like a yerik's heart beat before the hunter's last merciful knife stroke. I felt the ground quake under my toes and watched the animals flee. A wild wind picked up as if the air were suddenly full of wild Ikran.

"Go and get Sempul…" Sreu ordered quietly as we moved behind a tree. Sreu pulled out her own bow and set an arrow to it. "Send Tsteu, Hufwe and Fkue!"

I watched the skies and the trees that were being whipped around in the wind, suddenly smelling that sky people stench that haunted my dreams.

"Go! Now!" Sreu hissed, shoving me out of my thoughts.

I ran to do her bidding and I wouldn't fail like I did last time. As soon as I reached Hometree and saw the shocked looks on the Clan's faces, I began calling. "Sempu!" I yelled. "Tsteu! Hufwe!"

As soon as I started calling, Tsteu raced past me. "Where is she?" He yelled over his shoulder.

"Not far ahead! Keep going!" I replied and kept at the task. "Sempu! Sempu!"

Sempu appeared from the comforting darkness of Hometree. "What is it, Neytiri?" Sa'nu was just behind him.

"I think it's sky people!" I breathed. "I could smell them!"

Sempu turned to Sa'nu. "Stay here, and stay alert. Come, Neytiri, show me!"

We raced back to Sreu and there in the clearing with Tsteu, Hufwe and a few other warriors, were the look-alikes, the one called Grace among them. Behind her was a female, the one I had seen weeks ago, and a male I saw playing the game on the strange grey pond.

"I am Eytukan!" Sempu bellowed striding forward. The look-alikes backed away a few paces. "Olo'ektan of the Omaticayan! Who are you?"

The one called Grace bowed, the other two followed. "I am Grace," she announced. "I hope your warriors have given you the message I sent?"

"They did," Sempu nodded and held a hand out in gratitude. "And I thank you for your kindness to my daughters. We do not know your ways and I feared what might have happened if they were seen."

They visibly relaxed except for Grace whose eyes immediately found Sreu and I. "I would never hurt one of the Omaticaya, children of the Olo'ektan or not." Grace's normally kind eyes were hard. "I give you my promise."

Sempu accepted her promise. "What is your purpose here…Grace?" He tripped over the name as well.

"I…come as a messenger of the sky people. We invite you to come to our camp as friends. To learn more about each other."

A few of the young ones like myself appeared next to me; Tsu'Tey and Pidal among them. We crept forward to, sniffing carefully. But I was the first one to actually touch the look-alike; a thought that once repulsed me was now a distant memory. My Sa'nu had always taught me to look for Eywa in all living things. And even in this alien, I sensed Her.

Grace held very still as I touched the back of the hand with too many fingers. Immediately she flipped her palm over for me to inspect. I traced the lines carefully, feeling the wrinkles there. Her skin was warm beneath my touch; I could hear her heart beat. Despite her alien smell and eerie face, I thought, perhaps, she wasn't so different after all.

"What is your name?" Her strange sky people eyes held no malice for my former refusal to give my name.

"Neytiri," I replied quietly almost shyly.

She smiled. "Neytiri…beautiful name." She pointed to my companions. "Their names?"

"Tsu'Tey and Pidal." I pointed behind me. "And my sister, Sreu…"

Grace nodded and repeated them to herself. "I will remember. These are…_Amanda_…" She gestured to the female I hissed at. "And…_David_…"And then she pointed to the giant insect looking creature. "_Trudy_….is the flyer."

A few others came forward, Sreu leading them, to inspect Grace and I wandered off to inspect the flying creature. I tapped it with the tip of my bow and it rang out like a hollow tree. But it didn't move no matter how many times I whacked it.

I glanced up to see the shining face was clear and leapt up on its head. Pidal and Tsu'Tey did the same on the tail and the open belly.

Suddenly there was a knock beneath me. I looked down and there, inside the creature, was a tiny dark haired female sky people. She reached up and tapped the clear shield again. I tapped back very gently. She smiled. There was Eywa in her as well.

* * *

So?_ What do you guys think?? Reviews are greatly appreciated!!!_

_Quick question: Does anyone know the prayer/ saying that Jake says when he makes his first kill? I know some of it, but I figure i should probably know it all considering I'm writing about Neytiri's training. _

_and the glossary of Na'vi words I've used: _

_Yerik-deer creatures the Na'vi hunt _

_Ikran- flying dragons (banshees)_

_Pa'li- direhorse_

_Palulukan- thanator (big scary panther thing with venom that Neytiri rides in the one of the last scenes of the movies)_

_Nantang-viperwolves_

_Sempu-Daddy/Papa_

_Sempul-father_

_Sa'nu-Momma/Mama_

_Sa'nok-Mother_


	5. Chapter 5

_sorrry guys this chapter's a little short but the next one should be longer. This one's more of a transition chapter than anything.... But i hope you all enjoy it all the same!!!_

_Disclaimer: I own nothing at all except fo the OCs you don't recognize. _

* * *

My Jake stares in awe at me as I pour the last of the ashes into the bag he holds open for me. He normally has a silly look on his face whenever we're together, as if nothing else matters. But this look is different.

"I can't believe it." He shakes his head in disbelief, his thoughts swirl around and around in an array of images: the sky people camp, Grace in her sky people body and _Uniltiranyu_, dream walker, body, me, the first time we met; my face alight with Atokirina.

I tilt my head to the side in confusion. "What?" I ask both him and his thoughts.

"You were the Na'vi girl Grace wrote about in her book…" My Jake is still staring as if I've grown an extra head during the storytelling.

I'm familiar with the word book and I've seen them; Grace made them seem important, but, "What are you talking about?" I stand, wiping my hands of excess ash.

As I cleared the ash, I found a strong new lawyer of grass beginning to reach upward. I smile a little to myself; in a year, the grass will cover the dead trunk and branches of Hometree. Another year will pass and other trees will begin to spring up, animals will return. One day, no one will be able to see the atrocities the sky people wrought but I hope they will know what happened here.

My Jake ties the bag close and attaches it to his belt. "I read Grace's book…okay, skimmed it-but that's not the point-."

"Then what is the point?" I wonder as we walk back to the Pa'li who wait off in the underbrush of the still living trees and forest. I can't blame them; I never want to return to this place. It's too full of memories of Sreu and Tsteu and a life that isn't mine any longer.

My Jake chuckles and brings me back to the present. He feels my distress and tries to cheer me up. "The one part I did read all the way through was the first part. And she wrote about her first encounter with the Omaticaya and a little Na'vi girl-"

"I was not little!" I insist, growling. "Just small for my age!"

He laughs again. "Fine, but she wrote about you."

"I'm in this…book? Others have read this book? Other sky people?" I ask.

He nods. "Not a lot, but some."

"And this is fascinating to you?"

"Well, it was until you put a damper on it," he retorts as I leap over a rather large dead branch, reveling in the strength in my legs. Meanwhile, my Jake twitches; it's going to be a very long pregnancy for him.

"The sky people have gone from our land and we have many other things to worry about," I smile, remembering Grace in both of her forms, her smile and her hand outstretched to me. "But I am glad that Grace remembered me. After everything."

"You are going to tell me the rest of the story, aren't you?" He wonders softly. "That isn't the end."

I wish it were. "Later," I promise. "I am tired now..."

"So what are we going to with the ashes?" Jake asks, changing the subject.

"Mother needs them…she and a few of the others elders are going to paint our history on the inside of new Hometree." I reply. "Mother thought it was only fitting."

My Jake wraps his arm around my waist, his assurance flowing into me. He steers me away, back to the Pa'li, back to new Hometree, to life at hand. My Hometree lies in a sea of ashes, as does the past. Everything we need lies ahead.

That night, my Jake and I announce to the rest of the clan that we are expecting a child. The People are thrilled that the Olo'ektan and future Tsahìk are finally joining the ranks of so many of the other parents. The women whom I have helped through the ordeal offer advice and express their hope to be chosen by my mother to help with my delivery. They offer name choices and soon we are laughing at our silly childhood stories and of friends who have joined with Eywa. Even Ninhat and Ist'Tey are present with their tiny son whom they have named Tsu'Tey after our and Ist'Tey's brother.

"And then…" Ist'Tey is becoming one of the best story tellers in the clan; I realize He runs his hand over his face as he tries to hold back his laughter. "And then…Pidal looks at me, her eyes huge," he mimes with his own hands in front of his eyes. "And she says: 'It wasn't supposed to go that far!'"

Everyone laughs at the story and my Jake, whom Ninhat has handed Tsu'Tey. When she and Ist'Tey first arrived, he asked to welcome the newest member of the Omaticaya. My Jake is all too happy to hold the child until he actually does. At first, he cradles Tsu'Tey with fragile fingers, almost afraid to jostle him even a little. I grin and help adjust his hands.

"Support his head," I whisper and re-position his palm under the baby's back.

"He's so small…" My Jake whispers back so only I can hear him. "Are they always this small?"

"Sometimes." I reach over and run my fingers over Tsu'Tey's tiny baby toes. He looks curiously at me and my Jake but doesn't cry. I grin. "I think he likes you."

Just as I predicted, there is a softness to my Jake's eyes as he gazes down at the child in his arms. "Welcome to the world…" he tells Tsu'Tey in a gentle hum. "Brother."

Soon, I can't keep my eyes open and my Jake and I slip off to bed after Ninhat takes back her son. She thanks my Jake for his welcome to her son. He asks me as we walk up to our branch if it was the right way to welcome a child. "It was the best way," I reply.

"I'm going to miss you, when I hunt." My Jake promises, sitting down on the hammock. I told him that once it became common knowledge that I was expecting, there would be no more hunting for me until after the child is born.

I grin and place my hands on his shoulders. "I will miss you, too. But," I trace my fingers down his arms and take his hand to lead it down to my belly. His fingers brush over my skin, familiar but careful too. I hear his sharp intake of breath when he can feel the child beginning to make its presence known. "I can be patient if I have to."

"You?" He laughs. "Patient?"

"_Skxawng_!" I accuse and hit him in the shoulders a few times. "Such a _Skxawng_!"

He catches my wrists and pins them to my side as he pulls me down to him. "But," he replies in a deeply sweet voice. "I'm the _Skxawng_ you chose, remember?" he whispers in my ear, planting his lips just beneath it.

"And would always choose," I promise.

* * *

The months pass in a haze of everyday duties. The story I promised to finish lies forgotten in the back of our heads. There are moments when he wants to bring it up, but other things get in the way. And before we know it, I'm halfway through the pregnancy. My mother warned me about the back aches, the swollen feet and the unrest that would plague me but couldn't express the feeling of absolute enormity. Every day, I think that I cannot possibly get any bigger and yet every day I do. My Jake swears that I've never been more beautiful, I call him a _Skxawng_.

There's a new sense of peace, though as I make more time for my Tsahìk training. As a child I would never be able to sit as still as I had to now; I never understood how Sreu could for hours. But now I relish this time with my mother and the quiet in my mind that the meditation brings. Even the child grows still and quiet during my training.

But at night, it jumps and dances as Jake and I sit up and watch the night sky.

"Ninhat says it will be a boy," I tell as I lean back against him. His arms wrap around my shoulders and he presses kisses against my ear.

"So does Mo'at," he replies.

"What do you think?"

His hand reaches around and caresses my stretched skin. "I'd like a boy…But a girl…especially one as beautiful as you…" he kisses me again.

I grin. "I think it's a girl."

"How do you know?"

I shrug. "I just do."

"If it's a girl, will you want to name her 'Sreu'?" He asks carefully. When I don't reply right away, Jake babbles on. "I just thought that…You don't have to-we don't have to… Neytiri?"

"You haven't heard the rest of the story," I answer back quietly.

My Jake sighs. "You should finish it, then."

"Are you sure?" I lift his hand in mine and inspect it thoroughly. "It is a sad story…"

"The last thing you told me," Jake replies as a way of deciding. "Was that Grace visited the Omaticaya near Hometree."

"All right then…She offered to teach us English to speak to other sky people directly…."

* * *

She called it _school_; a place of learning. She offered every child of the Omaticaya a place at this _school. _And I, of course, leapt at the chance. Sa'nu, like Sreu, was suspicious, not only of the sky people but my foolish and often dangerous curiosity. They lovingly brought up my previous brushes with the sky people.

But Sempu saw it as an opportunity to learn more about these visitors. With a daughter of the Olo'ektan and Tsahìk among them, I could teach these people our ways. I would not be Tsahìk, but I could help my sister and future brother when their time came. So, happily, I attended along with Pidal, Tsu'Tey and a few other younger children.

Grace had built a small open air structure for _school_ on the sky people camp, in the same place that Sreu and I first saw the Uniltiranyu. It had a _roof_ and a _floor_, but we could see all around us through the _supports_. There were no trees here but we weren't far from the forest, as long as it was in sight, we could relax.

Grace would leave soft music on during lessons. The other Uniltiranyu teased her for it, calling it _old _and _silly_ but I liked it. There was something soothing about the sounds out of the _radio_. I couldn't understand any of the words at first but slowly as the lessons went on, the words made themselves known to me.

At first English was difficult to understand. The words were awkward on my tongue. They didn't flow at all; the letters arranged themselves in unnatural patterns and rhythms. I could say the small words; _baby, house, sky, tree, home, yes, no._ But stringing them together was another matter all together.

The huge wooden structure that Sreu and I saw the first time we'd come to the camp, provided endless entertainment when we were taking breaks from English lessons. Some Uniltiranyu challenged us to races through it. Most of them would watch but two of them, Amanda and David, were our constant competition. No matter how hard they tried, Tsu'Tey and I always won.

The months passed in a happy blur of constant training. Sreu and Tsteu took every opportunity to teach us the warrior's ways on the journey to and from _school_. And they waited on the perimeter _fence_ until we were done with lessons for the day. We didn't attend everyday but several days in a row and then several days off.

On days off from _school_, my warrior training intensified. Now I not only trained with Sreu but with Tsu'Tey and Pidal.

Tsu'Tey had grown in leaps and bounds in the last few months and was almost as tall as Hufwe. And of course, Sreu wanted to test my strength against his.

"Remember," she whispered to me. "You are Palulukan. You fear nothing."

I nodded as I gripped my father's knife. It wasn't a real fight, but one that tested my readiness to take a life, should the need arise.

Tsu'Tey was waiting and as soon as Sreu stepped aside, I saw him coming. Palulukan, I reminded myself and neatly stepped to one side. Palulukan. I crouched; knife steady in hand as Tsu'Tey paused and spun.

Just as he was half way turned around, I leapt and caught him in the shoulder. He threw me off but he was off balance just enough for me. I leapt again, this time I knocked him to the ground.

But his hands gripped my wrists; he was stronger than I was. Think, Neytiri, think. You have all the time in the world.

I lifted my knee to collide with his heaving side in a short quick motion. Again, he was just off balance and I saw my chance. As I pulled myself up, I grabbed his wrist and yanked it behind his back as I pressed my knee there. I held my father's knife against the back of his neck; hard enough to know it was there but gentle enough not to hurt him. I had won.

I looked over to see Sreu grin with pride. "Well done…" she complimented. "Now, let Tsu'Tey breathe."

I released him and helped him to his feet. At first I thought maybe he was angry a girl had beaten him. But he was more dazed by my speed.

"How did you get so fast?" He wanted to know when we sat to rest.

I shrugged. "Sreu's made me practice with Hufwe since we started training." I gestured to the big warrior who watched my sister and Pidal spar.

He shook his head in disbelief. "We'll have to practice more. You and me." He noted.

I grinned at my new found friend. "I think that might be good."

* * *

_So? What'd you guys think?_

_As always, the key, I promised:_

_Yerik-deer creatures the Na'vi hunt_

_Ikran- flying dragons (banshees)_

_Pa'li- direhorse_

___Palulukan- thanator (big scary panther thing with venom that Neytiri rides in the one of the last scenes of the movie)_

___Nantang-viperwolves_

_Sempu-Daddy/Papa_

_Sempul-father_

_Sa'nu-Momma/Mama_

_Sa'nok-Mother_

_Uniltiranyu- Dream walker_

_Skxawng- moron…but you all probably knew that one._

_Atokirina- the seeds of the Tree of Souls, pure spirits_


	6. Chapter 6

_I just thought I'd let you all know that I've only got two chapters left...and as you've guessed, some serious crap is about to go down. I hope you all enjoy and let me know what you think! _

_Disclaimer: I own nothing at all._

* * *

The blue sky teased me. Sreu told me it would until I made the climb up Iknimaya which, she promised, would be soon. Waiting, she said, was the worst part. For all intents and purposes, I was ready, so were Tsu'Tey, Pidal and Ist'Tey. We had all made our first kills and brought it back for our families, we were all great with the bow and we were fairly well matched when it came to knife work. Tsu'Tey may have been the strongest, but I was still the fastest.

But in the course of our training, Tsu'Tey and I found ourselves together quite a bit; Sreu thought it would be a good learning experience for the both of us. Even after training was done for the night, he tagged along with Pidal and I until my friend's circle grew to include him and Ist'Tey. So much had changed in the last few months and there was still so much to change in the coming months.

Tsu'Tey flicked my arm and I glanced around to remember that I was at _school_ and Grace was calling on me.

"Neytiri?" She held up a picture, a _photo_. "Can you tell what this is?" she wondered in English.

"_Bird?_" I guessed.

"Yes, but in a full sentence please…"

I groaned and next to me, Tsu'Tey chuckled under his breath. " It…is bird?"

"It is _a_ bird." Grace corrected. "Remember your articles."

"You know, we're gonna have to tell her that we won't be coming tomorrow," Tsu'Tey whispered when Grace called on someone else.

"I know, she'll understand."

"Are you scared?" Tsu'Tey did not look at me. He kept his eyes down at his hands. "What if you don't….?"

"We'll pass," I assured him. "We haven't been working this hard for nothing."

He looked sideways at me and smiled.

"I'll talk to Grace after the lesson." I promised, "Tell Pidal and the others."

When Grace gave us a break, I stayed behind as the others ran off to stretch their legs. Grace hummed to herself as she turned up the _radio._ She looked up to see that I was still there. "Something wrong, Neytiri?" she wondered in English.

I shook my head. "I want to say…" I had to think hard about putting all the words together in the right order. "We will not ….school…next day."

Grace smiled at my improvement. "You will not be here tomorrow?"

I shook my head.

"Why not?"

"In Na'vi?" I asked. Grace nodded. "Tomorrow, Tsu'Tey and Pidal and I will make the trek to Iknimaya. We will choose an ikran and become warriors of the Omaticaya."  
"Really?" She was excited for us, like always. "And your sister is a warrior already?"

I nodded. "She went to Ikninmaya last year and chose her ikran…."

"So you choose?"

"Yes…no…" I sat on her _desk_. "You choose ikran, but the ikran chooses you too. Sreu says …." I pressed my hand to my heart. "You know here when you find the right one."

"Sounds like falling in love," Grace gathered a few _papers._

"Is that what sky people do? Is it the same?"

Grace sat down on her chair, laughing all the way. "From what I understand, yes and no. Your sister has a life-mate?"

I shook my head. "Sreu and Tsteu are intended. But they may become life-mates at anytime. They're both warriors and one day they will become Olo'ektan and Tsahìk."

"What about you? What will you be?"

I looked up at the sky. "My sister says I will be her very best warrior…the one she can always count on. But my parents want me to learn English so that I might be able to the sky people directly."

Grace looked out at the yard to see Tsu'Tey and David racing through the _obstacle course_. David trailed behind but not nearly as much as he used to. "Your parents are wise." Was all she said on the matter.

"Why do sky people do this?" I gestured out to the tree-less yard. "Do you not like trees?"

Grace put her hand on my shoulder. "Sky people are very strange. We use trees to fuel the machines we use to move around in your home. We pull them out to build roads…to travel on."

"Is that what you're going on the other side of the camp?" I asked her. "Using those machines to make more room? Are there more coming?"

Grace sighed; she had a sad look in her sky people eyes. "There are always more coming….I would like to come talk to your Olo'ektan and Tsahìk…after your initiation?"

"I will speak to my parents tonight."

"Thank you…" Grace smiled.

Suddenly the song on the _radio_ changed and I recognized it. "Why do Amanda and David tease you about this?"

Grace glanced at the radio fondly. "It's a very old song, made long before I was born. But I like it, it makes me calm, reminds me of being a child."

I nodded along, translating the words in my head. "It's sad…but good. What's it called?"

" 'Little Bird'," Grace replied before turning it up.

* * *

All my training had come down to this. I realized as we stepped out from beyond the safety of the waterfall. Every moment was now a test of every ability Sreu drilled into my head over the last months, every sparring match with Tsu'Tey, every tracking mission with Pidal. Now was my time to fly or fall…literally. My time had come.

Before, we dismounted the Pa'li at the base of Iknimaya, Sreu told me that I was ready and reminded me of what she told me all the way through my training. I was Palulukan and now my time had come to show everyone that it was a nickname well earned.

All around us, ikran screeched and roared. Few did anything more than dropping into the sky and out of sight as soon as we came near. They growled and hissed, their fierce gold eyes watching every movement we made. Nothing escaped them.

"You first, Neytiri," Hufwe nodded to me as we gathered on a huge boulder halfway onto the ridge.

Of course, I was first. When was I not first? I began to walk among the ikran, hissing every so often at a stubborn one that I thought could be the one. But none were. I felt nothing but admiration for them as they leapt up and took flight, wishing that I too could fly just as easily.

And then I felt a thrumming in my heart as I looked up to see a bright green one, staring straight back at me. It held its ground as the others around it flew away in terror. The green one roared as fiercely as it could at me, its claws digging into the ground by the force of its scream.

But I felt it in my heart the way Sreu told me it would feel and knew this…female…Se'ze was it. And so I leapt without looking or worrying!

I grabbed her beak in one hand, wrapped the rope around it as quickly as I possibly could and yanked hard. I pulled her head down against her neck and she sank into the ravine. She thrashed, screaming the whole time, writhing onto her back almost. But I grabbed at her queue, missed once, then twice, and then with a hard, quick lunge attached mine to it. Suddenly, as if the last minute or so hadn't happened at all, Se'ze grew still. For a brief moment, I had wings too and the only thing I wanted was to fly.

_Fly now!_ I heard from somewhere both above and within me.

I unlaced the rope from around Se'ze's beak and she clacked at me as I scratched her face. _Fly…._ In an instant we were airborne, weightless and free as we barreled downIknimaya. The whole world became silent but for the wind whistling across Se'ze's wings. I was flying-_We_ were flying! A little laugh bubbled up out of me as Se'ze and I flew around a mountain side. Then, it grew into a whoop of joy, and then a warrior's call as we banked a hard left. Se'ze let loose a roar of joy and exhilaration to echo mine.

Suddenly, Sreu and her ikran, Eana, dropped out of a cloud bank next to us. "How's the view?"

"It's…amazing!" I called back to her. "Like nothing else!"

"Come on, let's see what they can do!" Sreu and Eana veered right and led Se'ze and I through a small path between two floating mountain peaks. As soon as we passed through it, we dropped straight down into the open air above the jungle. We made loops through the waterfall spray as the others joined us along with their mentors and then finally Hufwe.

"Is everybody here?" Sreu called down to Hufwe. He gave her a salute and we headed in the direction of Hometree.

When we came to the top, we all dismounted but the new initiates were loath to leave our new found friends. But Pidal and I dropped down onto the main branch, Ninhat was there to meet us. She, with her mentor Sevin, was singing the old folk song we'd sung last year to welcome us home.

My sister drew the design on me on the night of my initiation, a few days later. She did so with so much pride it leaked out of her. "I can't believe it…" she murmured as she made a small swirl on my shoulder.

"Was there ever any doubt?" I asked, laughing.

"Of course not…it's just…" She smiled and cupped the side of my face that wasn't covered in paint yet. "You're grown up."

I grinned.

"You're old enough now to have a life-mate."

I shook my head. "I don't…"

Sreu smiled her usual smile. "I see that you and Tsu'Tey have gotten close." She noted.

"He's a good friend," I retorted. "I don't feel it…" I put my hand over my heart. "Here…like you said I would. He is a good friend. A brother to me."

Sreu un-braided my hair a few hours before and ran her hand through the loose strands at my shoulders. She reached around and pinned some of it back. She finished painting and stepped back to look at her work. "Beautiful," she announced and then the smile faded from her lips.

"I want you to know…" she bit her lip to keep from crying. "That nothing will ever change that you are my sister. I may be Tsahìk one day but…you are my sister always."

I felt a few tears bead on my eyelashes but couldn't find the right words. I realized, as we stood there staring at each other, that we didn't need words. We never did.

Later, when my father welcomed me, just as he had with Sreu, there were tears in his eyes and Sa'nu's as the other members of the clan put their hands on my shoulders. Just like before, we breathed the same breath, we were the same being.

Like they did for my sister, the clan celebrated my joining the warrior's ranks. There was dancing and singing by Ninhat and her mentor. Pidal was asked to dance by a few young men, Tsu'Tey included. I even danced with Tsu'Tey once or twice, maybe three times. He was a good dancer, something new I learned about him. And we laughed in each other's arms. I saw my sister and Tsteu take to the floor and my parents too. We all danced and sang without abandon.

That night, when I finally returned to my bed, I waited for my sister to come too. She didn't. As I laid there in the hammock alone, I realized that Tsteu had become my brother in every way.

* * *

_ So? What do you think????? Press that little green button and make me super happy!!_

_Yerik-deer creatures the Na'vi hunt_

_Ikran- flying dragons (banshees)_

_Pa'li- direhorse_

_Palulukan- thanator (big scary panther thing with venom that Neytiri rides in the one of the last scenes of the movie)_

_Nantang-viperwolves_

_Sempu-Daddy/Papa_

_Sempul-father_

_Sa'nu-Momma/Mama_

_Sa'nok-Mother_

_Uniltiranyu- Dream walker_

_Skxawng- moron…but you all probably knew that one._

_Atokirina- the seeds of the Tree of Souls, pure spirits_


	7. Chapter 7

_Sorry about the late chapter, but my university has started up again and I have a lot of work to get down. But don't worry I fully intend on finishing this. I've got two chapters and maybe an epilogue left...if you guys want. _

_So, I don't write action scenes well and I'm trying to work on that, so let me know what you think!!_

_Disclaimer: I own nothing at all, no__t even the music. _

* * *

"_**I know what I know/A wind in the trees and a road/That goes winding under/From hear I see rain I hear thunder/Somewhere there's sun/And you don't need a reason"~ "Little Bird" by The Weepies**_

_**

* * *

**_

"This is the hard part of the story." I whisper to my Jake. There are few who are still awake but I can't raise my voice any louder than this. I scoot back and rest my head on his shoulder. "So many things…I wish I could change…."

Instantly, his arms come around me, holding me tight to the here and now. His fingers make designs on my skin that make me shiver with other memories, happier ones. "Why haven't you ever told me? Or how could I have not….seen it…? I mean, it's been two years and –"he isn't angry, just curious.

I hold a finger up to his lips to silence him. I search his familiar eyes and try to find the right words. "It is something I never wanted to burden you with. It is a life that I no longer lead."

"My Neytiri," My Jake knows how my heart melts when he calls me that and I hate it when he uses it against me. "It's still part of who you are." He buries his nose alongside my neck. "Finish the story." He begs

* * *

If I had spent less time with Se'ze and Tsu'Tey, I would have noticed my parents worried looks every time we headed off for the _school. _If I had reveled less in the freedoms adulthood brought, I would have spent more time with my family. If I hadn't been so curious of the sky people and look-alikes, I would have seen Grace's growing frown. If I hadn't been so enthralled in my new life, I would have seen what was coming.

Grace did not come to Home tree until a few weeks after my initiation. When we asked, she said she was busy and there was much work to be done before she came. We offered to help, but she shook her head in refusal. Looking back, I realized that it was the first time, Grace seemed afraid of anything. With the other Uniltiranyu, she was as sharp as a torok claw and as mean as a___ nantang_. She had a warrior spirit, my sister grudgingly noted one day not long after my initiation, but Grace could not see it even in herself.

Then, one day, a week before she was to come to Hometree to speak with Sa'nok and Sempul, she begged Amanda to take photos of us. We wondered at the tiny black box which flashed after Amanda called: "_Cheese_" They tried (unsuccessfully) to explain to us how the word cheese was supposed to mean to smile, but it also meant something the sky people ate.

"Why are you taking photos?" I asked her, as Amanda flashed one of David, Tsu'Tey and Pidal.

"To remind me of this," she replied sadly.

"Are you going away?" I was confused.

Grace turned to me. "You never know."

I didn't understand but didn't get the chance to question her further because Sreu pulled me in for a photo. We looped our arms around each other and smiled at the little white flash.

Finally, when Grace did come to visit again, she came with David and Amanda in tow and a few small male sky people with their strange black weapons that made funny metallic clicking noises every time they moved. How in Eywa's name did they hunt? I wondered as I watched them walk closer to Hometree. A yerik would hear (and smell) them from a huge distance . Unlike Grace, these sky people didn't smile at us, their mouths remained hard flat lines. But there was a wonder in their eyes that they could not hide. At what I wasn't sure.

When Grace reached Hometree and where my parents, sister, brother and I sat, she bowed low. She waved to a few of the children who had escaped their mother's grasps to come see the visiting aliens. As always, Amanda and David followed, in both the bow and the waving to us, but the sky people didn't or wouldn't. Beside me, Sreu steadied her knife in her hand and Sa'nok regarded them icily.

"I come from my Olo'ektan." Grace began solemnly. "To bring you gifts," she handed my parents a small black box. My Sa'nok opened it and looked curiously up at Grace.

"What is it?" She spoke in accented English that Sreu and I had taught her over the last few months.

Grace was surprised for a moment and then schooled her expression into one of control and serenity. "Your Neytiri is a wonderful teacher." She replied in Na'vi.

"How is it you know our language?" Sempul demanded, but not unkindly.

"We learned from many different places, a few tribes here and there…before we settled there." She pointed in the direction of the camp.

"What is this?" Sa'nuok shook the box and asked again.

"It is medicine," Grace replied.

Sa'nok laughed and offered the box back. The tiny sky people shuffled nervously at my mother's laugh. "We have medicine, thank you. We know what is good for us and what is bad, and we know when to let Yaw take and give."

Unfazed, Grace nodded and took the box back. She pulled out a piece of paper and unfolded it before my parents. "My Olo'ektan offers to build you a road from the sky people camp to Hometree. To make travel easier."

"We have no used for these roads," Sempul chuckled good naturedly. "We have strong Pa'li and good riders!"

"Is this what you have been doing at your camp?" Sreu wondered. "Building roads?"  
"Unfortunately, yes." Grace sighed. "Taking down the trees, making roads and homes for the sky people."

Grace's words rang in near silence as the clan took in a collective gasp of shock.

"It is you?" Sempul whispered. "You have created the wound in Eywa? Your kind?"

Grace nodded again, there was no hope in her eyes. "We hoped to treat with you."

"For what?" Sa'nok whispered gravely.

Grace swallowed hard. "My Olo'ektan wished for you to take as a gift and then move to a different Hometree. He wants what is underneath the ground here." She patted the ground.

"They want our Hometree?" Sreu confirmed in a horrified voice.

Grace nodded again. "I am sorry. That is why they are here."

Sempul stood suddenly, Tsteu beside him. The sky people's weapons shook in their hands and I could smell their desperation from where I sat. Their nerves were bordering on fear. "Never." He growled. "This is our home! And we will never step aside for you to take our home!"

Grace put her hands up in a sky people show of subordination. "I understand, Olo'ektan. I did not want to ask."

"You will go now," Sempul commanded thunder in his great voice, pointing the way. "_You_ have been kind to us, to our children; mine…and I will allow you to return to your Olo'ektan with this message to your camp; you will stop this senseless destruction…."

Grace stood and bowed again. "I will tell him but he will not listen and he will not be pleased."

Sempul's voice was a dangerously low hiss. "I do not care."

Grace muttered to her sky people companions and to Amanda and David. I caught a few words but couldn't quite understand yet. "Not go…it. Angry…understand….loose…Afraid…"

* * *

Sempul took his ikran to see the damage the sky people had wrought himself. Sreu, Tsteu and I accompanied him. Something about seeing it from so high up made it more real and my heart hurt for those trees they had so ruthlessly cast aside and how they delved into the ground, ripping and tearing into our mother's flesh. Did they not feel the pain? Did they not understand that those trees had been growing for longer than anyone could remember? Those sky people seemed unable to See anything at all.

When we returned to Hometree, Sempul and Sa'nok decided that we would go at dawn and stop the sky people's digging _machines_. Without the digging machines, they would have no other way of tearing at Eywa and would return home. But no matter what, that destruction had to stop.

When Sreu woke me from my sleep in the early hours of the morning, she motioned for me to follow. I did and met with Pidal who helped with the war paint. I glanced across Hometree and saw the other warriors getting ready as well; Tsu'Tey, Ist'Tey, Hufwe, Fkue all the members of my family. Something Sreu had told me after our scouting trip to the sky people camp came back to me: _You are Neytiri of the __Omaticaya. Everything you do is for the clan. For your family_.

As Pidal and Sreu took turns painting my cheeks and nose, I realized that I wasn't afraid. I was anxious…to rid the sky people from our land, to heal Eywa…to prove myself a worthy addition to the clan but most of all to Sreu who told me: _You will be my very best warrior. The one I can always depend on._

We rode by ikran in the pre-dawn darkness, the black night giving us cover. There was a certain freedom in this darkness and excitement raced down my spine as every beat of Se'ze's wings brought me closer and closer to the sky people camp.

We landed a ways away, about the same spot that Hufwe had brought us the first time. We dismounted and let our ikran hide in the tall tree. I scratched Se'ze's beak and whispered: "Don't worry, we'll be away from the smell soon…"

Se'ze butted my chest with her nose; she didn't want me to go anywhere without her. "I don't want to leave you either," I promised her. "But I'll be back soon."

I gave her one last pat and slipped down through the branches toward the gathering place. I joined Pidal and Tsu'Tey and a few other warriors for whom this was the first mission. Tsteu and Sreu stood in the middle of the circle giving orders.

"Fkue, take four of your best fliers," Sreu ordered and made a circular motion with her hand. "And cover us from the air. You've got to find the weak places."  
Tsteu took up the command. "Neytiri and Tsu'Tey, you're with me. We'll sneak along the western edge and try to stop it from making much headway into the jungle."

"Hufwe," Sreu began again. "You and I will take your warriors east and do the same. We'll put Pidal in a high spot. She's got good aim."

My friends and I could only glance at one another as we separated. No fear, we had agreed earlier. We didn't have time to worry or do much because the air was suddenly filled with the sounds of the digging machines.

We moved silently through the trees, blending in with the early morning shadows. We made no sound as we ran; the only evidence to our presence was the stirring of the animals and the suddenly moving leaves as we passed them by.

Soon, I couldn't even tell where my own sister was. I followed Tsteu's lead and ducked down as the huge green machine began to delve into the ground and tear the trees out. A few of us hissed under our breaths at the sight of trees and other plants being torn from the ground.

Tsteu held up one hand and we all pulled an arrow onto the string. _Breathe_, I reminded myself. _Breathe._ I focused on the black hooves of the creature, hoping it would be enough to cripple it.

Tsteu's arm dropped and all of our arrows flew. A few hit the hooves, a few glanced off the green armor and a few stuck in other place but they did not stop it from digging. It kept at its task as if nothing had happened.

But a few of the sky people noticed and began yelling and running around frantically. Their tiny forms seemed like insects among the massive tree line and the mammoth machines they drove.

A few of our warriors chuckled at their panic and we let loose another volley to frighten them away. We heard more from the eastern edge where Sreu and her warriors were shooting. The tiny sky people ran around in circles until others arrived, dressed in their attempt at camaflouge. They carried the same black weapons and lined up facing us.

And then I heard it: "Attack!" and my stomach plummeted to the ground. I glanced to the right at Tsu'Tey and he looked right back, his eyes just as wide.

Suddenly the jungle was alive with the sound like a yerik's heart beat but not so rhythmic. It was pulsing and some unseen force tore the trees around us to bits. I felt something sharp slide across the side of my arm but it passed and I was too busy following Tsteu's orders to fall back to take much notice. We beat a small retreat, only about a hundred feet or so and took shelter behind a few small boulders.

Soon the sky people turned their attention to where Sreu and her band were attacked the green machine still and Fkue's forces were from the sky. They opened fire and the arrows also glanced off the green armor. They made little white marks but no lasting damage.

We watched in horror as the sky people turned their fire to the sky. They hit their black weapons and the air was filled with the pain riddled cries of ikran and their riders. They crumpled to the ground and did not move. A few of us, myself included, gasped as we began heading towards Sreu who took the brunt of the attack now.  
Just as Sreu came into to sight and we shot at the tiny sky people, she turned to look at me. She begged me with her eyes; _Do something! Anything!_

"Stop!" I cried in English, my voice echoing. But the sky people could not hear me. "Stop!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. "Stop!" I heard an echo...but still it did not stop. Hufwe suddenly fell to Sreu's right and he did not move again. Sreu screeched like a wounded ___Palulukan and shot arrow after arrow at the sky people who had taken our friend down. Her aim was true and they fell quickly. _  
It was quiet for a moment and I heard my cry echoed by a familiar voice. But then a shot rang out and another and another and I saw Sreu crumple to the ground. I screamed too and saw Grace running toward us, screaming for it all to stop.

I ran to Sreu's side without another thought. She was bright with blood, so much, I didn't even know where to begin holding the wound. Tsteu, who was not far behind me, screamed a scream that I had never heard any creature make and ran to where I knelt down next to her. "Sreu!" He grabbed her hand, stroking her face.

Sreu struggled to say something, anything but her blood spewed out of her lips and ran down into the corners of her mouth. Grace stood off to the side, almost afraid to come any closer. But I saw the tears on her cheeks, glittering in the new sunlight. "I'm sorry…" I heard her say over and over again. "Sorry…So sorry…"

"Where?" was Tsteu's gentle question.

She pointed to her throat. Her eyes budged as she drew a thick, wet breath. I saw more wounds than the one in her throat. They peppered her collar bone and I found one right above her heart. More blood oozed out of the wounds, covering her neck and chest. It pooled beneath her, coating the grass in a thin layer.

"I'm here, Sreu…" Tsteu hissed desperately. "No…don't go… I'm here."

"Look at me," I ordered through the tears on my numb cheeks. "Don't leave us…don't leave me. It's supposed to be your job….I can't do it…" I begged her.

"…Eywa…takes…." Sreu rasped through her torn throat. "She…gives too…" She dragged in another hard breath, her eyes relaxed. "I …."

"Sreu?" Tsteu murmured in her ear, kissing her hand. She reached out with that same shaking hand and pressed it to his cheek; love replacing the fear and agony. A small smile quirked on her blood stained lips, her beautiful eyes closing slowly as if she were only going to sleep. There was no pain anymore in her body, no tension or fear. "See her …." Her breath rattled out of her and she stilled. My sister had left me behind again.

I don't remember Tsu'Tey and Pidal kneeling down next to me, nor did I feel their hands on my shoulders, my back. I didn't hear their sorrow echoing mine. All I could remember was looking at the light dimming in Tsteu's eyes as Sreu's soul went to Eywa. He was dead where he sat, but Eywa wasn't kind enough to take him too. From then on, he would be half a person. Half here, half with Eywa. In a place I never wanted to go.

Someone was crying, wailing and at first I thought it was Tsteu but his mouth was a hard grim line. I looked around and saw Pidal and Tsu'Tey looking at me with pity. But they were not making any sound. Grace cried openly, her hand covering her mouth as her shoulder shook, but she was silent. And then I realized the one who was making that awful mournful sound was me.

* * *

_yeah....i did it....I'm sorry. Let me know what you guys think!!!_

_As always, the key:_

_Yerik-deer creatures the Na'vi hunt_

_Ikran- flying dragons (banshees)_

_Pa'li- direhorse_

_Palulukan- thanator (big scary panther thing with venom that Neytiri rides in the one of the last scenes of the movie)_

_Nantang-viperwolves_

_Sempu-Daddy/Papa_

_Sempul-father_

_Sa'nu-Momma/Mama_

_Sa'nok-Mother_

_Uniltiranyu- Dream walker_

_Skxawng- moron…but you all probably knew that one._

_Atokirina- the seeds of the Tree of Souls, pure spirits_


	8. Chapter 8

Okay, i come bearing the next chapter!! I only have one more chapter and I decided to do an epilogue!!!

Dislcaimer: I own nothing.

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"_**Sometimes it's hard to find a way to keep on/ Quiet weekends, holidays/You come undone/Open your window and look upon/All the kinds of alive you can be/Be still, be light, believe me"~ "Little Bird" by The Weepies.**_

* * *

"Eywa takes…but she gives also." My Sa'nok said at the funeral. She went on to say more things about our all-mother but I could not listen. As future Tsahìk, I had to learn Eywa's will but I was too angry…to hurt to try to understand her.

I longed to be anywhere but there and so I concentrated on the Atokirina cupped in my hands. It floated and twisted in the air, but never left the shelter of my palms. There was a calming shiver each time a tentacle brushed against my finger like my Sa'nu's kiss on a childhood hurt._ Mawey _it seemed to whisper to me. _Calm…still…love…_But not even an Atokirina could heal this hurt. No one could stitch the tear; there was no going back now.

Pidal was a pillar of calm strength on my right and Tsu'Tey on my left and on Sempul's other side, Ninhat's sweet voice rose in a mournful pitch. She sang as the tears flowed freely down her cheeks. But I didn't cry. Not now, not in front of them. Not in front of Tsteu. It was too cruel.

Tsteu stared down into the grave and Sreu's inert, but now clean, body with a lifeless gaze of his own. She lay curled like an infant, ready to return to Eywa who sent her to us; Sa'nok told the people who gathered around us. As if I could hear his thoughts, Tsteu seemed to like nothing more than to leap in and be beside her forever, but he could not. He was living and she was dead. They were separated until Eywa decided that it was time that he joined her.

When the song was finished, Sa'nok muttered another prayer and I let the Atokirina float down to rest beside Sreu. But I could not watch as the surviving warriors covered my sister and the Atokirina with dirt. I looked down at my feet until the job was done and my sister was gone.

Just as I was about to follow my parents into Hometree, Tsteu caught my arm and held me back as the rest of the Omaticaya trailed past us. Pidal and Tsu'Tey waited for me until I gave them a shake of the head; I was fine. But Tsteu did not speak until we were alone.

"I see you, Neytiri," he greeted me with affection in his voice; it was forced and weighty but still there all the same.

"I see you, Tsteu." I repeated, gripping his hand. "What will happen now?" Tsteu was my brother in every sense of the word, who else could I trust with this question?

"You will be Tsahìk now," Tsteu replied quietly, his voice heavy with sorrow. "You will lead Omaticaya one day." He held one of Sreu's necklaces out to me; the one he made for her when Sempul and Sa'nok announced that he would be her life-mate.

"What…?" I gripped his arm. "What about you? Tsteu…I…"

He did not smile, nor did he frown as he tied the necklace around my upper right arm. "I will go." He replied simply.

"Go where?" the tears were coming, I could feel them. "Please, Tsteu-"

He shook his head. "I don't know…but I can't stay."

"Will you ever come back?"

Again, he shook his head. "No." He turned to go.

"Wait!" I lunged after him, desperate. He was my last link to Sreu…I needed him. I needed proof that she lived and loved and was real. I gripped his arm with a single-minded terror. "No! You can't go! Please!" the tears finally arrived and they poured down my cheeks as they had in the last few days.

Tsteu turned and frowned. He tilted my chin up so I had no choice but to look at him. "Oh, Neytiri…" he murmured. He bent down and kissed the top of my head. "Be careful, little sister….Don't do anything silly…" he let me go and walked away into the jungle. I never saw him again.

For a week I didn't speak to anyone. As tradition dictated, no one in my family spoke to the clan. We mourned together and separately but we did so silently. We did not speak her name, nor the names of the others lost to Eywa. We never spoke of Tsteu. We never heard from him.

But I mused on Sreu's words as if trying to find some missed meaning there. If there was ever a time that I needed Sreu's steadfast guidance, it was now.

_For Eywa's sake: duck, Neytiri!... You will be my very best warrior…__ I _told_ her to stay put… How could you, Neytiri?!..._ _And you cannot help your family if you go jumping out at the aliens and get yourself killed…_ _You are Palulukan. You fear nothing…_ _I may be __Tsahìk one day but…you are my sister always….__…Eywa…takes….She…gives too…_ The words kept running around in my mind and I could not get them out. They branded themselves on my heart along with a small tear that would never quite heal. Every time I thought her name, it ached so much I had to retreat to my hammock and sleep. In my dreams, Sreu and I flew our ikrans so high that no one could touch us. But I always crashed back down to Hometree when I awoke.

Everything became quiet. My whole world shrank down to a few murmurs with Tsu'Tey, Pidal, or Ninhat. For the most part, I didn't want words, I didn't need them. All I needed was Se'ze's wings and the freedom of the wide open skies. Se'ze and I took flights every day. To escape from the clan's noise, their sympathetic looks. Up in the sky there wasn't anyone to see but Se'ze and I. It was one of the few times I felt that maybe Sreu had never really gone. If Sreu had flown, then maybe a part of her spirit was still around, still floating.

I had found my salvation.

But even that dream came to an end, when Tsu'Tey asked to speak to me in private. We wandered along familiar paths a little ways from Hometree. I couldn't go far nor take a lot of time; my Sa'nok had thrown herself into my training. I had to learn everything she'd already taught my sister plus everything else Sreu hadn't gotten to yet.

"I know you don't want to talk about it…" he began shakily as we walked. I couldn't stay in one place. I flitted around; touching every plant we passed, scaring any creature that crawled near us. "But…"

I glance back at him. Tsu'Tey was hardly ever unsure. "What is it?" I grinned for the first time in a long time. "You can tell me."

"I spoke to your Sempul this morning…" He crossed his arms over his chest and barely looked at me "And your Sa'nok. They…" He shook his head. "I mean- with Tsteu –" Tsu'Tey finally glanced up, a mixture of sadness and hope flittering across his face. "What I'm trying to say is: your parents chose me to be future Olo'ektan."

My heart stopped; Tsu'Tey would be my life-mate when the time came. Any choice I once had was gone. My future was settling comfortably beside me and there was no fighting it. One day soon, he would know every secret, every shame, everything would be his for the knowing. Once, this prospect of letting someone else in was daunting but now…it was a relief to share this particular burden with someone else. And he had always been the most trustworthy of friends…he was always there when I needed him.

I was growing used to sleeping alone in my hammock. I reveled in the extra room and I slept well, though, without being kicked or elbowed. And yet, I missed feeling another's heart beat next to my ear, the whisper of another's breath against me. I wanted arms to hold me against the nightmare's grip and someone else's murmur to tell me that everything was all right. Sa'nu had Sempu, Ninhat had Ist'Tey, Sreu had Tsteu. And who did I have?

And there was Tsu'Tey, my friend, whom I did not love but would soon learn to.

He held a hand out to me, a careful smile on his lips. "You and I have been friends for so long, Neytiri-" he began but I didn't give him a chance to finish.

I launched myself at him; hugged him, feeling his warmth against me. It was a small comfort for all the lonely nights I'd spent in my hammock since Sreu's death. He had been my friend and always would. It would be enough for me, I promised myself despite the nagging feeling in the back of my head that perhaps it would not be what I expected.

That night my Sa'nok found me sitting alone; I had retreated from the rest of the clan in my confusion. Now more than ever, I needed Sreu…and she could not be there. I sharpened my father's knife with quick strokes, my anger and sorry mingling to a volatile concoction. There was a time then my whirling thoughts would have made me clumsy and my fingers slip, but I remembered Sreu's words: _"Like the bow, this knife is an extension of your hand. Be aware, be in control."_

Sa'nok sat next to me, her eyes never leaving the motion of my hands. She, too, was trapped by the sorrow. "Your Sempul will be happy to know his knife is being taken care of so well."

I set down the sharpening stone and plucked one of my own hairs to test it. I let the strand fall and even the tiny bit of weight split the hair into two. "He told me to be careful…I was stupid…"

Sa'nok reached up and ran her hand through my braids, smiling at the sound the beads made as they tinkled against one another. "You are who you are, Neytiri…All is Eywa's will."

I could not look at her with the question I longed to ask wasn't sure if I could.

"What is it?" My mother wondered as one of her fingers traced the line of my ear, a motion she had not done since I was a tiny toddler.

I looked at her head on and saw my own eyes reflected back at me. "Do you wish our places had been exchanged…that she had lived and I …?"

All at once her eyes filled with tears and she was my Sa'nu; not Tsahìk, not Mo'at or life mate of Eukytan. She reached over and enveloped me in her arms, held me tight to her. I melted into her warmth and love. "You are my baby…mine." She whispered like a secret. "Never forget that. Sreu was mine, too…but she is with Eywa now."

I played with the beads on her necklace like a child. "I miss her, Sa'nu," I whimpered. "I don't know what to do…I-"

"There is something I have to show you then, consider it your first test." She got up and motioned for me to follow. I sat confused for a moment before she turned, waiting.

I got up and when I reached her side, she took my hand and led me away without another word. I started to ask where we were going a few times, but Sa'nu shushed me. The path we took was unfamiliar but well worn.

Finally, we came upon the Tree of Voices, a place Sreu had only spoken about, but I had never seen with my own eyes. As we walked into the grove of the sacred trees, Sa'nok asked if I remembered the way.

"Yes…" I whispered, afraid to raise my voice any louder. "I remember."

Sa'nok reached a careful hand out to the glowing pink tendrils as one reached for her as well. "Good. You will come here often. This is a place for prayers." She turned back to look at me. "To be heard and sometimes answered. All the ones who came before us are with us now." She attached her queue to a strand and let out a small sigh. "They speak to us through Eywa…they are Eywa and Eywa is them."

I took my own queue and let it wrap itself around the nearest branch. I shivered as the voices came rushing into my head. There were shouts of joy, of sorrow, laughter and tears; children's voices, singers, hunters, past Olo'ektans and Tsahìks, the fallen, the lost. They all were there with Eywa..

And then I heard the voice I was longing to hear. She spoke across the ages, through darkness and light, predator and prey but close enough to make me think she was only whispering in my ear.

"Listen for me…" her voice lovelier than Ninhat's singing in its bliss. "I will guide you, little sister…. Don't be afraid!"

Tears leaked down my cheeks and my mother wiped them away with a steady hand. "You can hear her?" Was the tentative question.

I nodded as Sreu's singing voice joined with the thousands upon thousands of others;  
" Be strong, be well, bring only joy!"

* * *

The story is finished…for now. There is a little more, but I'm too tired to keep telling. I close my eyes briefly as I hear my Jake smiling.

"That's why you took me there…To listen for Sreu."

I nod. "I heard her."

"And what did she say? My, that dream walker is cute?" He jokes as he settles for sleep too.

"No," I open my eyes again and look at him. "I had accepted Tsu'Tey, my destiny and everything else. And then…" I grinned and ran a finger down his nose. "You came along and ruined everything…"

My Jake smiles even wider.

"I asked her what I was supposed to do;" I go on. "I had my duty to the clan, to be with Tsu'Tey, to protect my people and then there was you and your smile and your laugh and what I felt in my heart."

"I bet I can guess what you chose…" he laughs.

I ignore him. "Sreu told me to trust my heart to See….the way I had chosen Se'ze."

"Would you have chosen me anyway, even if she told you to run?" He wants to know.

I trace the line of his face….my one and only. "I told you already; I would _always_ choose you. Even I had been born a sky people and you the Na'vi." I shudder at imagining an ugly sky people face for myself.

"You would still be beautiful to me," Jake promises, knowing my thoughts as always. "No matter what."

I wrap my arms around him and his around me. It is always the same and yet different every time we hold each other. Each time reminds me of the first and yet it seems as though we have never not been together. I could hardly imagine my life now without him.

* * *

So what do you think?

The key:

_Yerik-deer creatures the Na'vi hunt_

_Ikran- flying dragons (banshees)_

_Pa'li- direhorse_

___Palulukan- thanator (big scary panther thing with venom that Neytiri rides in the one of the last scenes of the movie)_

___Nantang-viperwolves_

Sempu-Daddy/Papa

Sempul-father

Sa'nu-Momma/Mama

Sa'nok-Mother

Uniltiranyu- Dream walker

Skxawng- moron…but you all probably knew that one.

Atokirina- the seeds of the Tree of Souls, pure spirits


	9. Chapter 9

_Awww sad...its the last chapter!!!! But don't worry, I've got an epilogue coming. _

_Disclaimer: I own nothing at all_

_And I had to make up the whole birth scene, I know what it entails scientifically (for humans, I am female after all) but I haven't had any children personally. And as far as Na'vi births go, It was pure and simple make-believe. _

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The months have passed since the story has finished…at least for the most part. Every so often, Jake will ask for a specific detail to connect Sreu's story to ours. But he has not found the biggest one yet. He will, though. I have faith.

"Did you ever see Grace again before we met?" He wondered one night a few weeks ago.

"Does it matter?" I asked back as I tried to tighten the end strings. I've never been good at it, the way Ninhat is or Sa'nok are, but I was trying all the same. This would be one of the many blankets the child would need in the first few months.

He shrugged. "Just wondering." He raised his eyebrows, waiting for confirmation.

I sighed and set the weaving down; I needed a break from it anyway. "I went to see Grace a few weeks after Sreu died. She wanted to apologize, to make things right," I shook my head. "But it would never be right, I told her."

Jake frowned. "She couldn't have taken that well."

"She was upset…and I warned her not to come near Hometree. She wouldn't make it back to the camp alive."

"Nothing else?"

I rolled my eyes. "She guessed that I would be Tsahìk now, in Sreu's place and she asked who had been chosen for me. I told her."

"That's how she knew…" he muttered to himself.

I leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Sleep now."

But today, I try to finish another blanket in the late afternoon sun as I sit with Sa'nok and a few other women. With Sa'nok and Ninhat's help, I've made the special hammock for the baby and the carrier that I'll use when it gets to be Tsu'Tey's size. It's just blankets now, I've made about five or six but Sa'nok said it's always better to have extra on hand. We laugh and joke about the children we watch running around us. Ninhat sits beside me, her son on her lap.

Tsu'Tey has grown in leaps and bounds since I helped birth him. He sits up all by himself now and reaches for his mother's weaving with trusted and mischievous fingers. He babbles with us, his eyes watching how our lips move, make words. But he hasn't said anything yet. More than once, Ninhat scolds him for disrupting her work and sets him off to the side but inevitably he will crawl back into her lap.

I look up to watch for any sign of approaching Pa'li; the land is quiet but for the children's laughter. My Jake left early this morning for the sky people camp, promising to be back by sunset at the latest. He said that No-men had to speak to him immediately about something and it couldn't wait. My Jake has become paranoid about leaving me alone for longer than an hour at a time.

I could have used an hour to myself though. As it was, I was never alone. Sa'nok was there, or Ninhat, or Jake. I would love to walk without the extra burden on my hips. I am grateful to Eywa for this child and I love it even now. But I miss running, climbing, flying. _Soon, _I tell the child. _Soon, you'll have to come out, just like Sempu said. _

"…it'll be any day now…" one of the women remarks, bringing me out of my thoughts.

"Hmm?" I wonder.

She repeats herself and pats my enormous swelling stomach. "Any day now, Neytiri….have you thought of a name?"

I shrug. "A few but nothing seems right. If it's a boy, we want to name him Thomas for Jake's brother," My clumsy fingers drop my weaving and I go to reach for it. "If it's a girl-"

Something isn't right. As I reach down to retrieve my weaving, a strange pain ripples through me. I must make a sound because Sa'nok stops whatever she was saying to grip my hand. "Neytiri?"

"Nothing…" I reply. "Just a spasm…?" I stretch upward but another cuts down across my lower back. There have been aches and pains but this…this is different. "I think…." I look up at her "The baby's coming…"

Ever in control, Sa'nok kisses my cheek and gets up. She grabs the nearest woman and tells her to send word to the sky people camp. Ninhat hands her son off to one of the women, I'm not entirely sure which because I focus on reaching for my Jake. I need him for this, I can't do it alone.

In my mind's eye, I briefly see my Jake at the sky people camp. He stops speaking to No-men immediately and turns in the direction of the jungle.

"….not that it's necessary, your Jake will know soon enough," Sa'nok is saying as she helps me up. "I know he'll want be nearby."

"If Olo'ektan returns soon enough he could see you before it really gets going," Ninhat chirps on my other side.

As they settle me into my own hammock, they tell me to sleep when I can. It could be a long night and I need the strength; it is a big child. So, I try to at least rest my eyes. Suddenly, their quiet chatter turns into a gentle muffling sound that lulls me into a deep sleep I didn't know I needed.

In my dream, I'm riding a Pa'li through the jungle. We take familiar paths, easily clearing fallen trees and streams. But the Pa'li's gait is quick and urgent as Hometree looms in the distance. Sunset is falling quickly and everything is-

My eyes snap open as the same pain as before engulfs my lower half. Again, the pain ripples across my stomach as if trying to yank something loose. This time, it hangs on a little longer than before and I let out a savage growl as if I can simply scare the pain away.

Sa'nok is there beside me and she whispers encouragement, tells me to breathe deeply, fully. I try and focus my gaze out at the now gentle twilight...My Jake will be here soon. I chant it over and over; finding solace in the words and in knowledge that my Jake is making his way with all speed. When the pain passes this time, I slither back down onto my hammock and slip into the release of sleep.

I manage to drift off for a little while but not as long as before. This time when I awake to the pain that has intensified even more, my Jake is there. He holds my hand as I squirm. I know I must be hurting him, but he doesn't move an inch.

When it passes, I lay back, exhausted, and smile at him, just happy that he is beside me. His face is drawn with worry but his eyes never leave mine.

"Of course the day I have to leave is when the little bugger decides to come." He groans in English.

"You got your wish," I whisper back. Only this morning he pressed his hands to my belly and said: "Seriously kid, you've gotta come out soon."

My Jake cups the back of my neck, pressing his forehead to mine. "Does it hurt a lot? I mean it has to-"

"It comes and goes," I try to play it off but as always, my Jake Sees me too well. The tension in his jaw races down to his neck and into his hand. This is something that he cannot fight for me; he doesn't know any other way to make it better. "Everything will be all right. You're here."

My Jake finally looks up at Sa'nok. "Can I stay a while longer?" he asks in Na'vi.

Sa'nok almost out right refuses until Ninhat places a hand on her shoulder. "Only until the next pain, Olo'ektan." She insists gently. "Then you must do as fathers have done since the beginning; wait."

"I'm not very patient," he admits.

"If I've had to be patient this long," I growl. "You can be patient for a few hours."

Ninhat and Sa'nok laugh. "Just on time," Sa'nok giggles like a girl. Like Sreu. "Another reason why men are not allowed."

We ignore them.

"How is No-men? His Amanda?" I wonder and try to focus only on Jake's answer. As he goes on about No-men's idea, I try my hardest to ignore the growing pressure in my lower back.

Only an hour later they kick Jake out, despite all his protests and my silent ones. I grip Ninhat's hand and watch him walk dejectedly past the sheet they've put up. But his eyes don't leave me until we can no longer see each other.

"Everything will be all right," Sa'nok promises, her hand on my shoulders. "Just breathe and listen for your Jake."

I close my eyes and breathe hard through my nose. As always, mine and Jake's thoughts are circling one another. And then suddenly, I can see myself, not as I am now but how I was before._ My face fierce and harsh in the Atokirina light of our first meeting. Something I've seen a dozen times but now our feelings mix and mingle from that moment…Fear, confusion, apprehension…admiration. _

_I see myself shooting the __nantang__, my leap more graceful than anything he'd ever seen. He stood there in awe at my speed that earned me the nickname _"_Palulukan." He may have been blind but this…this he could See._

The pain lances down my back and across my swollen skin. The muscles clench harder than they have before. I can't help but let out a loud hiss.

_Now, he's riding away on his trip to Iknimaya. He keeps turning around to watch my form growing smaller and smaller. He wasn't afraid of Tsu'Tey or the journey ahead. No…He didn't want to leave me. _

"It's all right to yell," Ninhat whispers.

I shake my head and bite my lip hard as the pain lances through me. My Jake is worried enough already. I won't scare him by screaming.

_I see us flying as always did. Nothing but blue skies and the wind on our faces. I see my smile from ear to ear as we play. _

I rode the Palulukan…I tell myself and him with a will that will not be contested. I am Palulukan. I imagine the power flowing through me as the Palulukan raced through the jungle to my Jake not so long ago.

_I see myself sleeping, my face full of moonlight. He wishes this for me now. In his memories, he runs his hand over my cheek. His thumb brushes over my temple. _

But this pain is worse than the others. I tilt my head back and will it away.

"Don't fight it, Neytiri," Sa'nok implores. "Breathe like I taught you."

I take a few deep calming breaths and focus.

"Listen for your Jake…" Ninhat instructs. "He's there…"

I try to quiet my mind and reach for Jake. I flail a few times but then I grasp tight. _Instantly, I see us in the rosy glow of the Tree of Voices, on that night which altered everything. His hand reaches over and slides up to my cheek. His lips come next, an alien feeling at first but then that too becomes familiar. He is my Jake, I realize just as he realized that I am his Neytiri. Until that moment I never knew how alone I really was. Almost as a response to this thought, his arms come around my waist and pull me closer. He is the only one I could ever want and he is all mine…_

I'm on fire with pain, I realize dimly. Everything burns and I could tear my skin off but it wouldn't help any.

"Push…" Sa'nok urges me. "Now push!"

I grip Ninhat's hand and try to relieve the pressure creeping down my spine. I push as hard as I can but don't feel anything change. Ninhat and my mother coo gentle words of encouragement into my ear. The waves of pain press on me almost one right after the other. "Push!" They urge but I want to scream: "What's the point?"

And then a new pain rips through me, more intense than any of the ones that came before. I cannot find enough voice to scream now even if I wanted to; there isn't one to be found.

"Now, my love," Sa'nok growls. "Last one!"

I shake my head. "…can't Sa'nu…I can't…" I pant.

In my head, my Jake imagines holding the child, running his fingers over the blue skin, holding that sweet baby warmth against him._ Almost there_.

I grab hold and push for all I'm worth. Suddenly I can feel the pressure give way and there is a sudden burst of liquid and a sound I have been waiting so long to hear: the baby's scream. Instantly, Ninhat wraps it up in one of the many blankets I've made and Sa'nu cuts the cord as I lie back, exhausted. Ninhat and Sa'nok work in perfect tandem, cleaning the child up and clearing the air ways so the scream grows louder and louder.

I need to see it, I need to know… I reach out. "Let me see…girl or boy?"

Ninhat lays the child in my arms. "It's a girl." She grins.

She fits there perfectly and I open up the blanket a little. She's mine…ours…I think to my Jake. Her petite legs are squished up against her stomach, toes curled under. Her tiny tail is wrapped around her left leg. The miniature hands are curled into fists as she screams and screams with strong lungs.

"Hush now, hi'l'aw," I whisper and run my finger over her fists to try to ease them apart. The four fingers and thumb, like Jake's, automatically lock onto mine. The soft skin is just like I imagined it would be; thin and supple but warm. "Hush now, my little love." I lift her up so I can whisper my prayer into her ear. "Be strong, be well, bring only joy."

All of a sudden, she quiets and gazes at me with eyes that I can't believe are real. There's a ring of forest green around her iris, vivid and arresting as Sreu's were, as Sempu's were. Most Na'vi have a small ring or even a smattering of green but my daughters' are…unmistakable.

"What?" Sa'nok leans down, examining her granddaughter. "What is it?"

"Her eyes…" I tilt the baby so that Sa'nok can see, too. She does and sighs softly in memory.

Sa'nok reaches forward and takes the baby in her arms. "Just like Sreu…" She begins the blessings as Ninhat cleans up. Sa'nok holds the child up to the sky, out to the open air and asks Eywa to guide this child on the life ahead of her. There will be many obstacles, many worries and many failings. But Sa'nok prays for challenges to make her strong, love to guide her, and faith to heal her. All things Eywa will provide.

When Sa'nok finishes the blessings, she hands the now sleeping child back to me. I thank Ninhat for all her help as she leaves, saying that she has to see to her own child and mate but promises to visit. I can hear Jake leap up and beg her for how I am. Ninhat only laughs and kisses both his cheeks affectionately.

Sa'nok places her hand on the child's head. "She will make a fine Tsahìk one day."

I nod. "She will."

"Just as you will, Tsahìk …"

I gaze up at my Sa'nok, shocked. "I thought…but-"

Sa'nok grins her wise grin. "This is the last test for you. You are a mother now, to this child and to the people. You will know our great Mother's will because you too will know motherhood." I look down at the little girl in my arms, thinking that my mother held me like this not so long ago. "Eywa chose this Jake'sully. For you and for us. And this child has been chosen too."

"For what?" I wonder.

Sa'nok shrugs. "Only Eywa knows." She kisses me and goes to get my Jake.

When Jake first comes in, he approaches carefully, quietly. I glance over and giggle; "Come here…"

Silently, Jake sits next to me; his eyes grow wide with wonder as I lift the blanket's edge.

"She needs a name."

My Jake looks at me and then down at our daughter. "I-I…" He stammers. He swallows and reaches out to lay a gentle hand on her tiny belly, which rises and falls in a sleepy fashion.

"She has Sreu's eyes. My Sempul's too." I whisper.

Jake smiles a little. "We should name her after your sister then."

I smile. "I still like Thomas…"

"You would." Jake laughs gently. "But-," he runs his huge fingers up to her tiny hands. Even in her sleep, she clings to him. And in that moment, Jake is no longer entirely mine. "I think it needs to be Sreu…"

I glance down at the tiny baby girl who's stolen my Jake from me. "I think so too. Here, take her. I need to sleep."

Without any other encouraging, Jake scoops the little bundle up. Already my arms feel strangely bereft without her weight. "It's funny…" I whisper.

"What's funny?" Jake replies looking up from Sreu's sleeping face.

I grin. "I almost killed you the first time we met."  
My Jake stares at me before stuttering; "And this is amusing??"  
"It is now, considering…everything."

"Tell me the story."

"A year went by after my sister died, then two…then three," I tell. "I was angry for a long time and confused too.

"But one day, I was out, following the sound of a sky people flying machine. I hoped it wasn't Grace…but in my heart, I knew it was….I followed silently. Watching two new dream walkers with her."

My Jake smiles, in his thoughts, I see the day as it unfolded for him.

"When the tallest dreamwalker was separated from Grace and the other male dreamwalker, I took my chance. I watched as he foundered in the brush, each step echoing for miles. Stupid dreamwalker…I thought to myself. Foolish dreamwalker to have come so far to die so quietly.

"I put an arrow on my bow and pulled back, feeling my strength and knowing that in a moment I would destroy another invader in my home. He could not See, he could not know...and just as I was about to release the arrow, an Atokirina floated down to land on the arrow head.

" 'Stop…'" whispered a voice so pure and sweet, I had to listen; it was Sreu's voice. Eywa chose her voice to speak to me. 'This dreamwalker will come to no harm.' She said."

My Jake looks down at our daughter and smiles. "I guess I owe Sreu a lot then."

I grin. "I guess you do." And I close my eyes for some well deserved sleep.

* * *

Well?? how do you find the last chapter? I love reviews they make this poor college student very very happy!!! :)

As always, the key:

_Yerik-deer creatures the Na'vi hunt_

_Ikran- flying dragons (banshees)_

_Pa'li- direhorse_

_Palulukan- thanator (big scary panther thing with venom that Neytiri rides in the one of the last scenes of the movie)_

_Nantang-viperwolves_

_Sempu-Daddy/Papa_

_Sempul-father_

_Sa'nu-Momma/Mama_

_Sa'nok-Mother_

_Uniltiranyu- Dream walker_

_Skxawng- moron…but you all probably knew that one._

_Atokirina- the seeds of the Tree of Souls, pure spirits_

_hi'l'aw- small one (or at least my approximation of it)_


	10. Epilogue

_As promised, the epilogue....but please see the A/N at that the end of the chapter._

_Disclaimer: i own nothing._

_

* * *

__8 years later_

There are moments, though few and far between, when I stop to wonder what would have happened if my sister hadn't died all those years ago. I wonder what her and Tsteu's children would have been like, what their names would have been. I wonder sometimes if my Hometree would have been destroyed, or Grace killed over it. And of course, it leads me to wonder about Jake. I would have chosen him, even if my heart weren't sill mending, even if my anger toward the dream walkers was cool. He would have still been hopelessly lost; he would have still tripped over his strange feet. He would have still smiled and spoke in that voice that haunts my dreams even now. There are a thousand different paths my life could have taken, but I realize, especially when I look at my daughter and my Jake, that every path no matter how different, every single one leads to Jake.

But as I said before, these moments don't hang about for very long. There is always Sreu to consider, to watch and to catch. She's small for her age, like I was, and full of the same silly courage her father has. She is so very much like him; from her five fingered hands and darker pigmentation, to her competitive streak "a mile wide" Jake says with a laugh. Her favorite question is "Why?" just as Jake's brother's Thomas' was and she vexes No-men and his Amanda to no end. Sa'nok says Sreu is like me too, but I haven't seen it.  
"Where's Tsu'Tey?" Ninhat asks me as we walk down from the top of Hometree. "And Sreu?" She glances around. They were supposed to meet us at the bottom by now, but the pair of them are nowhere to be seen.

I groan. Not again. "Why Sreu..?" I ask myself as we reach the bottom and start looking for them. "Why today? Of all days? Jake will be back soon …why today?"

Ninhat smiles. "Sounds like someone else I know."

I throw her a look. "I swear that girl is going to be the death of me."

"She is yours and Jake's daughter," Ninhat shoots back. "I would expect nothing less."

I didn't either, not really. Sreu and Tsu'Tey are always off having adventures, enjoying the childhood that will come to an end before they know it.

"They can't have gone far," I reason as she goes to ask a few of the women in charge of the children today. When she doesn't get any clues, I go to Sa'nok and the other remaining elders.

"I see you, Sa'nok." I greet her.

Sa'nok smiles and looks older than I have ever seen her look. "I see you, my Neytiri."

"Have you seen Sreu?" I ask her. "She and Tsu'Tey were supposed to meet us now but we can't find them anywhere."

Sa'nok laughs. "That girl…."

"Yes, I know. But have you seen them?"

She nods. "About an hour or so ago. They ran off with a few of the older children but I haven't seen them since."

Meanwhile, Ninhat goes to No-men and his Amanda. Both shake their heads but immediately begin looking. Sreu can't be far; she loves No-men and Amanda like an aunt and uncle. They are the only mated pair of dream walkers in our world, perhaps even in history.

My Jake told me I was lucky when we, and many of the Omaticaya, witnessed the two of them pledging their fidelity in a sky people ceremony a few years ago; Sreu was a year old and slept through it. I always wondered why the sky people made such a fuss about choosing a mate, was it not simple? I asked my Jake.

"Sometimes not." He replied with a grin.

"Was it simple with me?" I wondered.

He smiled and stroked Sreu's sleeping forehead. "Of course. Easiest choice I ever made."

Since then, No-men and his Amanda use their dream walker bodies to continue Grace's work; teaching English and learning more about our world. They spend three days in their dream walker bodies with us and a few off in their sky people bodies. But the children have grown used to them and love their lessons.

Suddenly the air is filled with the sound of approaching Pa'li. My heart flips over itself; my Jake has returned! Ninhat and I go to greet the party of six riders: my Jake, Er'el, War Leader of the riders of the plains, his mate Pidal, our old friend, and three of their best warriors.

Instantly, my Jake is there before me. He gathers me up in his arms without a word, his forehead pressed to mine. I cup the back of his neck, letting my fingers run through his hair. There are a thousand memories at my fingertips, a thousand kisses, touches. He breathes out a huge sigh as if he's been holding it in for a long long while. "I see you, my Neytiri…"

"I see you, my Jake."

"Step aside, dream walker!" Pidal growls playfully beside him. "Let me see my friends!"

Ninhat and I both leap at Pidal and hold her close. Sometimes it's hard believing my solemn friend lives so far from us now. After the terrible battle, Pidal lost both her ikran and father. But unlike me, she could not find it in her heart to choose a new ikran nor a mate among the Omaticaya to share her sorrows with. She did not trust the dream walkers, she never had. She could not look past the false body to See my Jake or No-men the way the others could. So, she traveled west to the plain to shed her grief. It was sudden, though and un-expected, when she Saw Er'el and became his mate.

Through all the greetings, my Jake keeps looking for something…or someone. With his arm still around me, he asks: "Neytiri, where is Sreu?"

"Yes," Pidal choruses and looks around too. "I want to see the little creature that the dream walker will not shut up about."

Ninhat laughs. "She and Tsu'Tey are always off on adventures. I bet-"

But Ninhat doesn't finish. Suddenly a few of the children come running at us. "Tshaik!" They shout. "Come quick!"

"What is it?"

"It's Sreu!" A girl a year younger than my daughter shouts. "She found a palulukan!"

My heart drops into my stomach. Oh Eywa…I glance at my Jake, who's already reaching for his bow. "Show me!" I hiss and follow the girl.

We run quickly but silently to a hollow quite a ways from Hometree. It's much farther than Sreu is allowed to go without someone with her. The closer we get, the more I smell the palulukan. And there, where little sunlight penetrates the canopy and there in the presence of a massive, but not full grown, palulukan is my Sreu, who stands calmly regarding the creature before her the way a huntress does before taking down her prey. As always, Tsu'Tey is close by, but not next to her. Instead he half-hides behind the closest tree until Ninhat pries him away.

My Jake and I step carefully closer and closer to our daughter. The palulukan does not look up until I'm standing in front of Sreu and Jake behind, his arms ready to grab her out of the way. Sreu doesn't even blink as Jake puts his hand on her shoulder.

The palulukan growls and I growl right back. She shifts on her feet a little, her red-gold eyes watching every move I make. For a moment, I swear I am back with my sister as we watched a Palulukan pass us by all those years ago.

Sreu peers around my leg and hisses right back, her ears flat against her skull and her fingers curled into fists. Perhaps it is surprise that makes the palulukan shift back a little more; to hear such a fierce sound from such a small creature.

"I see you mighty Palulukan…" I say in a clear, calm voice. "I see your strength and your spirit. I see you are a huntress too. But I ask you to go now…in peace."

The palulukan looks from Sreu and I to Jake, behind us, to the other warriors that have gathered in the trees around us. All have their bows drawn, arrows at the ready. Wisely, she senses that it will be a useless fight and turns and retreats back into the jungle.

There is a murmur of relief as parents collect their children and they scold and rejoice over the lack of injuries. I look down at Sreu who won't meet my eyes. Instead she turns to greet Jake; she's missed him a great deal in the past few days. Sreu looks up at Jake with an innocent grin as he checks her over. "Hi, Sempu."

"Hi," is all Jake says. Sreu knows that when she can't charm Sempu, she's in big trouble.

"Sreu…" I growl. Almost everyone is gone now, except for a few hunters keeping an eye out in case the Palulukan decides to return.

"Yes, Mama?" She uses English.

"Sreu, what in Eywa's name were you thinking?" I growl, suddenly remembering how my sister asked me the same thing once and I'm sure the fury on my face is close to the fury that was on hers.

"I'm fine, Sempu…" She sighs, looking only at Jake. "I am, I promise."

"Sreu!" I hiss.

Sreu finally looks up at me, twisting her fingers together in uncertainty. She sighs and tries to steel herself for what's about to come. "I wanted to see if I could do it." She huffs out.

"Do what?" Jake wonders, brushing a few loose strands of hair out of her face.

"Become Palulukan Makto, too," is the serious answer directed at me.

I look at Jake who looks back at me. There is a shadow of a smile that threatens to overtake his mouth. _Don't you dare laugh_! I warn him with a severe look.

"Ist'Tey's been telling that story again," He says to Sreu, regaining his composure and strict, blank face. "Hasn't he?"

Sreu nods.

"Sreu, you have to understand…it was strange circumstances." I try to explain gently. I don't want her to try this again but…

Her little face falls. "So, I'll never be a Palulukan Makto?"

"Oh my Sreu," is the usual frustrated sigh that falls from my lips.

"I think it's time to head back," Jake lifts Sreu up and let her climb up on his back, as always. "Norm and Amanda are here."

Sreu starts to cheer but then looks to me, waiting for punishment. She's been held back from lessons before.

"Only if you promise never to scare me like that again." I insist.

"I promise," She says solemnly.

Later, after we've welcomed Er'el and Pidal, we sit discussing the real reason they've come to meet with No-men and Amanda, who play with the children. Er'el, Pidal and their warriors watch curiously for a while as we tell them about how No-men wants to send more dream walkers among the Na'vi, the tribes of the plains, the tribes of the Eastern seas. At least at first.

Sreu and her constant companion, Tsu'Tey are side by side once again. Suddenly, Norm pretends to be a palulukan and the other children look to Sreu to send him scurrying for the jungle. I am never going to hear the end of this.

"…I like this dream walker No-men…." Er'el approves. "He rode well and he has a strong heart. His Amanda, too."

Pidal agrees, but her eyes don't hold the same warmth. She may know that they mean us no harm, but she will never trust them. "They understand the ways of Eywa."

Er'el puts his hand atop Pidal's, sensing her displeasure. "But you are sure the tawtute are returning?"

My Jake nods. "Norm doesn't think it's as…vicious as before. He says its more scientists. To learn, study."

"More dream walkers?" Pidal wonders.

"Probably."

Suddenly, Sreu crashes into my lap. She seems to have forgiven me for the reprimand I gave earlier. I squeeze her tight against me for a moment, feeling her warm liveliness. She's so big…I remember when she was just a baby and Jake held her up and marveled at how tiny she was. Now her limbs are long and she barely fits in my lap.

Sreu turns a little into me when she notices Er'el and Pidal sitting across from us, suddenly painfully child shy. "Will you say hello to our guests?" I urge her.

She turns back slightly. "I see you Er'el of the Plains. I see you, Mighty Pidal." She manages.

They laugh. "So brave facing a palulukan….and now?" Er'el chuckles. "I see you young Palulukan Makto."

"I see you, Small Sreu." Pidal gazes fondly at my daughter. I can almost see the memories Pidal is re-playing.

"That's what my Grandma calls me," Sreu intones curiously. "How did you know?"

Pidal frowns at the unfamiliar word and I explain that it means "Grandmother" in English. "She has Sreu's eyes." Pidal replies matter-of-factly.

"I am Sreu!" My daughter interjects. She glances over at Jake and then up to me. "Mama, what is she talking about? I am Sreu…aren't I?"

"Go play," I whisper in her ear. "We're talking about boring grown-up things."

"But…" She tries to protest as she gets up anyway. "Mama?"

I cup her small face in my hands and kiss her forehead. "It is a long story. I will tell you tomorrow."

"Promise?" She demands.

"I promise."

* * *

Later, when Sreu's fallen fast asleep in Jake's lap, he scoops her up and we take her to bed. He cradles her in his arms, as he did when she was a tiny baby. My Jake always smiles when he carries her like this, knowing that these days, however sweet, are numbered too. Soon, she will be too big to carry, to comfort with a simple kiss. Soon, Sreu will cease to be a child. She will be trained as a huntress. One day she will not be ours only.

We lay her in her hammock and watch her sleep. She curls up to one side and her tail twitches as she dreams…about what, only Eywa knows. I can't help but lean down and whisper in her perfect little ear: "Be strong, be well, bring only joy." Sreu doesn't move or even seem to have noticed that I've whispered to her.

Jake leads me to our hammock and we curl up together as we have for the last ten years. Above us, the night sky is filled with stars, too many to count or name. One of them, perhaps, is the star around which Jake's old home revolves.

"Are you going to tell her the story?" Jake wonders, running his hand up and down my arm.

"I promised." I reply evenly. "She'll have to know the truth sometime. I'll take her to the Tree of Souls…it'll be easier."

I can hear the smile in Jake's voice. "As long as you're sure."

"I am." I breathe deep, settling myself for sleep. " Stories are good for children. One day, her daughter will ask her to tell the story of the Toruk Makto and the Palulukan Makto and the woman she was named for."

"A very good story, if I say so myself," Jake grins.

"Very good." I agree.

"You know it's funny…."

I grin. "What is?"

My Jake turns to look at me. "You're always saying Sreu is just like me…today, she was like you."

I frown in confusion. "Staring down a palulukan?"

"No," my Jake shakes his head. "When she hissed at it. She looked exactly like you."

I laugh, loud and long. It feels good, I realize. To laugh and to know that my daughter has a bit of me that she can carry with her.

I can feel that my Jake has dropped off to sleep not long after that, and just as I am about to join him, a thought crosses my mind.

My sister's story ties to mine and so will mine to my daughter's. Each story blends into the next, an unbroken chain of stories that tie us all together. Not only is it in Eywa that we are one, but in the stories we tell. My daughter will use these stories to know what to do. No-men is right; sky people will return and it will be up to Sreu how that future will procede. With the stories I will tell her, I know she will do us proud.

I send out two small prayers; one to Eywa, thanking her for all that I have, and to my sister, asking for the strength to tell the story again: "Her name was Sreu and she was my sister…."

* * *

_A/N:_

_WHEW! _

_Another story ended....sad...but I want to thank all my reviewers! All of you! You guys are the reason i keep crawlling back to FF every few months with new stories to test out on you! Your feedback and praise lift my sprits! THANK YOU!_

_Secondly, I will not be doing a sequel...Sorry for all those hoping for it. I have __new ideas for new one shots; two starring Grace and even one with Jake's POV. If you guys are interested, put me on author alert. _

_C ya on the other side :)_

_as always, the key:_

_Yerik-deer creatures the Na'vi hunt_

_Ikran- flying dragons (banshees)_

_Pa'li- direhorse_

_Palulukan- thanator (big scary panther thing with venom that Neytiri rides in the one of the last scenes of the movie)_

_Nantang-viperwolves_

_Sempu-Daddy/Papa_

_Sempul-father_

_Sa'nu-Momma/Mama_

_Sa'nok-Mother_

_Uniltiranyu- Dream walker_

_Skxawng- moron…but you all probably knew that one._

_Atokirina- the seeds of the Tree of Souls, pure spirits_

_hi'l'aw- small one (or at least my approximation of it)_


End file.
